A group of students and aspiring frontline workers have graduated today from the first emergency services cadetship program held in the Murray River region.
The R2Serve (Ready2Serve) is a 20-week cadetship program developed by the Murray River Police Districts' Crime Prevention team in partnership with the NSW Ambulance, Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA), Fire and Rescue NSW, Rural Fire Service (RFS), Australian Defence Force (ADF), and the Department of Education.
The program was developed, following the success of the All-Emergency Service Work Expo in March.
The 15 local students, aged 15-18 years old, met once a week, during school hours and participated in specialised training across multiple emergency service fields, including firefighting, paramedicine, search and rescue, and law enforcement.
In their training sessions, they learnt a variety of service-based skills including,
- Forensics including fingerprinting and DNA Evidence – NSW Police Force
- Training on critical patient care and extraction – NSW Ambulance/VRA
- Training on fire mitigation and operating vehicles – RFS
- A full-day training at the Bandiana Barracks – ADF, and
- Joint training with NSW Police, VRA, NSW Ambulance on critical incidents.
Today (Wednesday 11 December 2023), the group of students graduated from the inaugural program, along with the support of emergency service workers, at the Botanical Gardens in Albury.
Murray River PD Commander, Superintendent Paul Smith, said this program has been pivotal in building strong partnerships between agencies and providing young people with invaluable personal development and leadership skills.
"The program has equipped these young people with skills that they can take into their everyday lives, as well as instil a sense of civic duty and community responsibility, motivating them to contribute to their community long term," Supt Smith said.
"I am hopeful that this program will continue to inspire a new generations of emergency service workers.
"We know in regional communities we are susceptible to unique emergency situations, such as natural disasters and remote accidents. We're hopeful this program will be the catalyst for inspiring young students to pursue careers in emergency services or related fields and live and work in their communities," Supt Smith said.
NSW Department of Education Senior Project Officer, Katie Friedlieb said she would like to see the program rolled out across other regions, following its success in Albury.
"Our emergency services partners have provided an incredible opportunity for Albury students to explore a range of exciting careers. The cadetship is something we will aim to replicate in other regions across NSW as part of the department's Regional Industry Education Partnerships (RIEP) program. The RIEP program connects employers with schools to support student career development," Ms Friedlieb said.
The Member for Albury Justin Clancy has thrown his support behind the innovative program.
"R2SERVE is a wonderful initiative driven by passionate first-responders who understand the importance of pathways into our services and providing opportunity for young people in our community," Mr Clancy said.
"Today's graduates will have benefitted from this experience and will play an ongoing role in building and enhancing community resilience."
