Distance learning course in private investigation
‘It’s a big step to take for anyone, but I’d say it’s never too late to make a change.’
Ashraf Ali, 82, certainly agrees with her. He’s studying for the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification at BPP. He started studying in 2006, with a mixture of day release, home study and revision courses at BPP’s centre in Shepherd’s Bush, West London.
The pensioner wants to become a chartered accountant after he qualifies and hopes to study the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ (ICAEW) ACA qualification. He says his motive for studying is not to make money, but gain ‘self-satisfaction and the fulfilment of a personal ambition’.
Ashraf’s achievement is being highlighted during Adult Learners’ Week, which runs until Friday. The annual initiative celebrates learners in all their diversity and aims to inspire thousands of people to try something new. There are events in workplaces, libraries, cafes, museums and colleges. Courses need not be in predictable areas. For example, budding detectives can sign up for a distance learning course in private investigation with the Academy of Professional Investigation. Students go on to gain an Edexcel BTEC advanced, level three diploma in the subject.
The course costs £449 and covers areas including surveillance, electronics, process serving, the legal system, forensic investigations and tracing missing people. Around 400 students a year, aged 18 to 88, sign up.
Among the successful graduates is Jorge Salgado-Reyes, 43, who gained his diploma in March 2006. He now runs a successful business, Allied Detectives, with offices in Croydon, Northants and Chile. Mr Salgado-Reyes, who moved to Britain from Chile as a child, had worked in loss prevention for 17 years — helping protect major companies from in-house fraud. However, when made redundant, he decided to get more training and launch his own private investigation firm.
He says: ‘Because I’d been an investigator already for retailers, the course wasn’t a massive learning curve. It was more a question of learning things I wasn’t familiar with such as process serving, running your own business and accountancy.’
He says: ‘There’s a lot of variety and the thing about being a private detective is that you’re your own boss. You pretty much pick your hours. It’s the kind of job you can start off with a laptop, a phone and a car. Then you’re up and running, as long as you have the knowledge to do the job. You don’t particularly need an office to do it, and annual turnover can be anything from £50,000 to £150,000.’
Course administrator Alison Cole says: ‘This is the only distance learning course that gives you a nationally recognised qualification in private investigation.’
INFORMATION: bpp.com; The Academy of Professional Investigation, 01444 441111, www.pi-academy.com
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