The group of 18 is making history as they become the first cadets to receive the exit strategy training in various disciplines to prepare them for the job market.
The City of Cape Town’s Metro Police Department has added a workplace skills course to its exit strategy for youth cadets.
The Volunteer Youth Cadet Programme was launched in May 2013 as an offshoot of the Metro Police Youth Camps. The Western Cape Education Department identified schools to participate in the camps themed around positive youth development. Learners who showed the most improvement in behaviour and discipline after attending the camps were selected to register as youth cadets. The Volunteer Youth Cadet Programme started with a first intake of 32 members and has subsequently grown to nearly 200 cadets.
The programme aims to help its members become active community leaders by instilling social responsibility and working in partnership with the Metro Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies to fight crime and keep the city safe. Cadets are eligible to wear the uniform, go out on public duty (under supervision), and receive membership award certificates.
‘We wanted to instil positive values in our cadets so they can be agents of change in their families and communities. The practical elements that we’ve started introducing like driver training, access to bursaries, and other development opportunities are meant to reward our cadets for their commitment, but also to ensure sustainable outcomes from their involvement with the programme,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security; and Social Services, Alderman JP Smith.
In the next chapter of the cadet exit strategy a group of 18 cadets will become the first to undergo the workplace skills training. For 18 months they will receive instruction on a number of aspects including:
- Peace Officer and Traffic Warden training
- Ethics
- Fire fighting
- First aid
- Physical fitness instruction
- Presentation skills
- Communication skills
- Basic administrative skills
There is also a practical work component that will include deployment with the Law Enforcement Department’s Neighbourhood Safety Teams, assist as coaches for the Youth Cadet Programme, and working with instructors to implement the physical fitness base line assessment within the City’s Safety and Security Directorate.
One of the cadets is 18-year-old Sakienah Ismail from Hanover Park. A transcript of her speech at the launch event is available here:
‘This opportunity will improve the eligibility of those cadets who may want to apply for positions within the Safety and Security Directorate in future, but also elsewhere. It’s also a win for the City, because it means we have candidates who have already undergone basic training and are familiar with the inner workings and demands of the enforcement services. My hope is that they continue to thrive, and remain role models to other young people about what is possible,’ added Alderman Smith.