Pretoria – Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba on Friday welcomed 80 young cadets who are to be trained in various aspects of the department.
The 80 new cadets will join 80 other unemployed graduates who were taken in at the beginning of the year.
The youths are expected to start their year-long training in July and will, among other things, be trained in frontline support service.
On completion of their training, they will be deployed in the department’s various offices throughout the country.
Speaking at a welcoming ceremony at the Department of Home Affairs’ offices in Pretoria, Minister Gigaba said the department is trying to tap in to young people’s energy and wisdom.
Minister Gigaba told the young cadets they should aspire to be like the youth of 1976 who were determined to achieve their goals.
South Africa on Thursday marked the 40th anniversary of the historic 16 June 1976 Soweto uprising, where students united in the fight against an oppressive education system.
“This country will never forget the sacrifices of the 1976 youth. You are here to change the way things are done,” he said.
The Department of Home Affairs introduced the cadet programme/learnership to assist the unemployed young graduates with relevant workplace skills.
It is part of the strategy to attract, train and introduce to the public service new officers who are security-conscious, professional, hard-working, patriotic and endowed with the right attitude of mind to serve the people with dignity while upholding the principles of Batho Pele and the Constitution.
The department has partnered with PSETA to ensure the training programme is a success.
PSETA Chief Executive Officer Shamira Huluman said PSETA is passionate about the training programme and that it prides itself in developing skills.
Huluman said there are about 3.5 million young people who not employed. “We find the Home Affairs training programme very relevant in addressing youth unemployment,” she said.
Shalot Leboho from Hercules, Pretoria is one of the cadets who will be taking part on the training programme. She completed an Electrical Engineering Degree at the Tshwane South College in 2010 and has been unemployed since then.
“When I heard about the Home Affairs training programme, I immediately applied and my applications was considered. I now wake up with a positive attitude,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
