Cape Town - The Navy is committed to empowering youth with skills that will put them in good stead for a career in the South African Defence Force.
Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Johannes Mudimu said the reason behind the Navy introducing the Military Skills Development (MSD) programme was to hone the skills of young people for service in the military.
He was speaking on Thursday at the graduation ceremony for 500 young people from different parts of the country who had completed their six months MSD training.
Admiral Mudimu urged them to treasure the opportunity and to accept the responsibilities and sacrifices of this chosen career that is dedicated to serving people.
"You have been armed with the knowledge and skills that will guide you in your careers and as you stand on this threshold, the success of your future lays squarely in your hands," he said.
Admiral Mudimu told the graduates that they must have steadfast leadership, values, ethos and standards that are upheld through discipline because the Navy could not afford to have members that defied orders and refused to comply with standards.
One of the graduates, Jacqueline Oliphant, 19, from Knysna in the Western Cape, told BuaNews that she intends continuing her training to be part of Maritime Reaction Squad (MRS) in the Navy.
"I intend to work in the South African Navy for as long as I live," she said.
Ms Oliphant has been interested in becoming part of the Navy since she was a child.
Andrew Roth, 22, from Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, intends continuing with training to become part of the Military Police. "I have been looking for something challenging, I'm glad that the MSD programme had made it possible for me to become part of the Military Police."
He said the MSD programme was challenging and exciting.
The Navy's MSD is a two-year voluntary youth empowerment programme initiated by the Department of Defence to provide military and essential skills to South African youth who aspire to follow a military career in the South African National Defence Force.
The MSDS is also aimed at rejuvenating the SANDF, providing it with scarce skills as well as serving as a feeder system for the Defence Reserves.
Since its commencement in 2003, approximately more 10 000 youth from all over South Africa have been recruited by the South African National Defence through this system.
The Navy absorbs more than 1000 recruits in January and July per annum respectively as part of the Programme.
According to the department, graduates become pilots, engineers, air navigators, military doctors and combat officers, boosting the country's scarce skills demand.
The programme gives youngsters, who achieved good marks in school but have been unable to further their studies at tertiary institutions or had to drop out due to financial constraints, a chance in life.
The department engages in a process of selecting school learners who apply to take part in the programme. They then sign an initial two-year contract, after which they are considered for further service in the permanent force.
