Cadet corps looking for youths

The Youth Cadet Corps has started a recruitment drive for its annual training programme targeting unemployed, out of school youths who exhibit high risk behavioural problems. The corps works with juveniles from thirteen to seventeen and according to the manager, Rudolph Conorquie, applications are available at the Youth Department and its officers in each district.

Rudolph Conorquie, Manager, Youth Cadet Corps

“Our programme is a programme that tries to get youths into doing positive things. It’s an alternative programme where the youth will volunteer and say to his parents or guardian “I want to change, I want to do something different. I don’t want to hang out again.” And we have s structured programme where we run with them. It’s a programme for about ten months that has four phases. In the first phase we try to instil discipline in them or different character traits and that part we call the booth camp which is a six week programme, vigorous training, physical, we do spiritual development, personal development and these youths stay there for six weeks without going home.

From there they go into a phase two programme where we do academic and vocational subjects with them for about six months. In the third phase we put them in on-the-job-training where we place them at a work place to do their training. Then we place them back into the community, which is the fourth phase, re-entry into the community where we place them at a school or at a job. We are still charged with keeping contact with them for at least six months to see what they are doing, if they are still in school, how they are doing, how the job is going and so on.”

The Youth Cadet Corps is located at mile twenty-one and a half on the Western Highway. Conorquie says that for additional information about enlisting, please call him at 021-2050.