Cadets ready to serve

Latoya Francis, one of the 275 cadets who graduated.

A BATCH of 275 National Youth Service (NYS) cadets graduated last Sunday from Eco Village at Chestervale in St. Andrew.

Rev. Garnett Roper, Executive Director of the NYS, noted that the NYS is a "carefully thought out and deliberately executed plan" to target young people, primarily among some 30,000 high school graduates.

During the one-month training at Eco Village, the participants were taught basic knowledge and skills required to work in the uniformed services, including first aid, drilling, arrest and detention techniques, deportment and time management.

"The training would have affected how they dress and deport themselves and how they relate to people, especially those in authority. They are a batch from which the uniformed services, if they choose, can find reasonably well-socialised young people. They have the ability to contribute to any programme with a national focus," Rev. Roper told the Govern-ment's official news agency, JAMPRESS, in an interview.

He pointed out that the 275 cadets will be sent mainly to operations of the uniformed services in five parishes, and at the end of the nine months of apprenticeship, they will be credited with 85 weeks of National Housing Trust (NHT) contributions, thus making them 50 per cent eligible to access benefits from the Trust.

Arnold Bertram, Minister of Local Government, Youth and Community Development, who gave the keynote address, plans to secure a Memorandum of Understanding with all the uniformed services to regard NYS cadets as the pool from which recruitment will take place.

This, he added, will provide employment opportunities for NYS participants in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), the Correctional Service and the Jamaica Fire Brigade.

Lamenting limited financial resources, Rev. Roper said that the NYS' budget of $137 million will allow him to train 2,500 participants, including 600 cadets during this financial year.

Minister Bertram indicated that the NYS cadet training can be expanded to eight weeks if additional resources are made available, adding that the programme could accommodate more young people if there is a mixture of public and private sector participation to provide funding.

He noted that the expenditure on education and training accounts for the single largest investment by the Government and individual households, stressing that the most important return on this investment must be that every Jamaican learns to live in peace with each other and refrain from violence in settling disputes.

Several cadets gave JAMPRESS their views on the training they received.

"This is great preparation for the working world, because I was trained to be tough, to be able to face any situation and to maintain a disciplined lifestyle," said Latoya Francis. Her colleague, Nicole Bayliss, said "it was rough for the first week, but after getting accustomed to the conditions, it has been good."

"I gained self-esteem and learned discipline and time management," Bjorn Brown said; while Miles Fearon said that the "sacrifices were well worth it."

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