An earlier editorial described the decrease in value of available training generally provided in our industry. When a local school district in my area recently decided to hire an expert who could recommend additional steps for securing their buildings, the school district chose a person based on training credentials received through another security industry segment.
A locksmith friend sent in a rebuttal after my editorial was published. His contention was that persons in allied fields are not trained properly. He sent pictures of an installation to prove his point. Someone had installed an electric strike as part of an electronic access control system and the original guard plate had been cut away for the electric strike installation. Anyone could now knife the door open and the original guard plate security had been lost. Perhaps allied security industries are not trained properly, but is the locksmith industry trained any better?
For much of the twentieth century locksmith procedures have been handed down from generation to generation. Once a person understood the general concepts, this knowledge could be profitably put to use during their entire career and for every locksmith job. Pin tumbler cylinders were the highest form of security and every lock company used the same cylinder construction first developed by Linus Yale 150 years ago.
Designs of security products made during the last twenty years have made an abrupt change. Key-operated, mechanical security is being supplanted by electronic counterparts. Key-operated lock cylinders are beginning to only serve as an emergency fallback role. Vehicle security systems and hotel locks are prime examples. Hand-me-down education procedures learned from earlier generations is becoming a diminishing value.
New servicing concepts learned today become obsolete tomorrow as new and different electronic ideas appear at a quickening rate. Continual training becomes an all-important factor if locksmiths expect to maintain their position as leaders in the security field. Almost every manufacturer recognizes the need for skilled service personnel in the field and offers technical assistance, servicing videos and training classes. Better yet, most of it is free for the asking.
