Become a Private Investigator in Saskatchewan
Becoming a Private Investigator in Saskatchewan is similar to most other places: you need to meet basic Private Investigator requirements such as age, language proficiency, and other usual PI requirements of this nature.
However, there is one large difference:
you do not need to take a government approved Saskatchewan Private Investigator's license course or official provincial Private Investigator training.
This is a requirement of many places but not Saskatchewan.
Private Detective Aptitude Test
Sask PI Sponsor
To become a Private Investigator in Saskatchewan, you need to be sponsored by a local Saskatchewan Investigator agency as well as meet the basic requirements mentioned before. Because in-depth and practical Private Investigator training does not exist, your sponsor is most likely going to want you to have a background in policing/ military or education in criminal justice. Both of these will help you as a Private Investigator but will not set you up for guaranteed success the way a practical Private Investigator educational course would. The Saskatchewan government body that controls Private Investigators is called the Private Investigators and Security Guards Program. Once you submit the proof of your ability to meet the requirements and proof of a Saskatchewan PI sponsor, the PISGP will give you your PI beginner’s license. This is where your struggle will begin.
Saskatchewan Beginner's PI License
Your Private Investigator beginner’s license in Saskatchewan is just a regular Private Investigator license. It will allow you to work for a PI agency, but you will not be able to work for yourself (your own PI company). This PI license means you must work under the supervision of a fully licensed Saskatchewan PI agency. However, the term “under supervision” will be in namesake only. You will not be supervised or guided by an experienced Private Investigator. In fact, PI agencies are not economically structured to have mentor/ student surveillance teams. Furthermore, a background in policing/ military and criminal justice will give you some transferable knowledge but it will not set you up to become a successful Private Investigator. New Private Investigators still need to know how to be successful working operations. This is why practical Private Investigator education and training specifically for Private Investigators is necessary.
This lack of guidance is why so many new Private Investigators burn out and quit and why many experienced Private Investigators are jaded. On top of this, Private Investigator clients with small budgets typically get the new unqualified Private Investigators, nobody wins in this situation. It is also not fair to small PI clients to use their files to haphazardly train new Private Investigators.
So, the time comes for you to work investigations with no experience or education. Your background in policing/ military or criminal justice will offer little to no real practical Private Investigator knowledge. You will always be told by employers that “soon you will get some training,” which never happens. It took me over five years to figure out the industry and get good at a few specialized fields. During that time, I struggled and probably lost several hundred thousand dollars due to losing work opportunities from a lack of Private Investigator skill and education. What is sad is that this is a common story in the industry. If you make it through this meat grinder of an industry, you can qualify to work for yourself (run your own PI agency). You will need a Saskatchewan Private Investigator business license for this. Hopefully, when you are hiring new Private Investigators, you will appreciate the importance of proper PI education.