32 • A DAY IN THE LIFE
My lifetime as a locksmith…
Jim Hancock – Education, Certification and Operations Manager for the
Associated Locksmiths of America – has spent over half a century in the
locksmith industry. In this ‘across the pond’ interview Jim explains how
family circumstances got him into the business but ‘ego’ kept him in…
JIM, HOW DID YOU START IN
THE LOCKSMITH INDUSTRY?
My grandfather started his own
locksmith business in 1963 in the small
town of Gulfport, Mississippi. Since he
and my grandmother raised me, I started
working in his shop in 1966 at the age
of 8, sweeping floors and straightening
displays. When my grandfather passed
away in 1972, I had a pretty good base
knowledge of locksmithing and could
perform quite a lot of the standard tasks
in his shop after school and during
holidays.
After college, I married and moved
to Austin, Texas to work at one of
the largest locksmith companies in
the country. I started as a Service
Technician, then Dispatch Supervisor,
overseeing the 24 service vans. In
1996 I became Director and lead
instructor of a training school (opened
by the company) as well as being
promoted to Operations Manager
for the business. Three years later, I
became a Certified ACE Instructor for
ALOA and started to develop the 6-Day
Fundamentals Class we still use for
beginners. This led to the Association
offering me a permanent position as
Education and Certification Manager.
Teaching had gotten into my blood and
I could think of no better way to honour
my grandfather than to help teach
others as he had taught me.
DID YOU ALWAYS WANT
TO BE A LOCKSMITH?
I didn’t have a choice! I would be lying
if I said it was something I always wanted
to do. I am a musician but I realized how
difficult it would be to make a living from
that, plus I fit in easily to the locksmithing.
I remained in it to make my grandfather
proud and frankly to try and be more
successful than my other relatives….pure
ego.
HOW WHO YOU DESCRIBE
ALOA TO OUR UK READERS?
ALOA was formed in the late 1950s
by a dedicated group of locksmiths that
understood the need to share knowledge
and provide education to the industry.
After 60+ years, ALOA now has members
in Canada, South America, Asia and
Europe. ALOA hosts training all over the
world and holds conferences across the
USA (Las Vegas, Chicago, Washingto