Unemployed police recruits march for jobs in Pretoria

A group of law enforcement graduates – some of them being unemployed for seven years – marched from Tshwane House in Pretoria to the Union Buildings yesterday to demand jobs.

The group handed over a memorandum demanding that 80% of the recruitment in the sector should be graduates and 20% matriculants, and the age requirements to join the force be changed to 18 to 40 years old.

Tried of not getting preference

One of the graduates, Mashudu Phalandwa, said they were tired of not getting preference when police recruited officers.

“I am almost 35 years old. The age limit for the graduates is 35, which means my time is running out,” she said.

Phalandwa said she has children to raise but, instead, sat at home.

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“I studied hard to be here. I grew up with a passion for law enforcement, but I am not getting those opportunities,” she said.

Qualified by can’t find a job

Another graduate, Hlengiwe Hlengwa, said she was qualified but can’t find a job.

Africa Restoration Alliance Gauteng premier candidate Reverend Dingane Sithole said: “If the government is not hiring qualified graduates, who are they employing?”

Criminologist Dr Witness Maluleke said the South African Police Service (Saps) considered graduates from different disciplines.

“Worryingly, many higher education institutions do not offer experiential [workbased] learning, leaving a vacuum for integrating theory into practice. Limited private colleges offer this integration,” he said.

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“But the offered theory and practical components are divorced from what is offered by the Saps training colleges.”