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LAUNCH OF THE FIRST CAREER
CENTRE IN THE SAPS

S H A R P E V I L L E
20 FEBRUARY 2004
 

Compiled by Erica Holtzhausen
Photographer: John Stewart
 

“During his Budget Vote speech in June 2003, Minister Nqakula announced that throughout the 2003/2004 financial year, the SAPS would launch career centres in three provinces.
Today we proudly open the first of these centres here in Sharpeville, Gauteng. A further two centres will be opened next month in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. By the end of 2004, Career and Information Centres will have been established in all nine provinces.” - the Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Career Management, (Dr) Mala Singh.
 
The SAPS began an intensive recruitment campaign in April 2002 and by the end of the 2005/2006 financial year, an additional 33 200 entry-level constables and 16 300 civilian employees will have been enlisted.

Each one of these individuals who is employed to boost the fight against crime, must have a career plan which is suited to his/her individual skills, talents and personal desires in order to keep him/her fully motivated. The Career and Information Centre is the ideal place for these individuals to gain the information necessary to formulate such a career plan even before they embark on their training in the SAPS.

 

 
Commissioner Singh said that the SAPS’s Career and Information Centres are open to all and will especially target the needs of senior grade school learners, graduates, disabled people, unemployed youth as well as personnel already in the employ of the SAPS.

Research for the Career Centres was conducted in partnership with the sponsoring Mining House BHP Billiton. Several existing career centres, including those at tertiary institutions and the SANDF, were visited. In the end the Career Quest model, used by the Zululand Career Centre in Richards Bay, was chosen and adapted for use by the SAPS. The Career Quest model is a self-directed, facilitator-assisted process which forms the heart of the activities in the Career and Information Centres.
 

 
The Career Quest is based on the career guidance model of John Holland who is often cited as the father of modern career psychology and career guidance. In a nutshell, Holland’s model is based on six main clusters of career fields with the careers in each cluster revolving around one or more common themes. In the Career Centres, each theme is identified by one of six colours.

A typical visit to a Career Centre lasts two hours with the visitors working their way - much like one would walk through a maze - through various steps using this unique colour-coded system.

During a visit to one of the Centres, the individual will be able to explore and process information specifically relating to his/her own interests and skills. The visitor can make personal decisions based on where his/her own main career interests are clustered and then identify and explore specific possibilities related to the different career fields that form part of that process. The process culminates in the visitor choosing three possible careers offered by the SAPS.

In his address the Executive Mayor of Emfuleni Local Municipality, Councillor J M Thabane, said that an investment in education and skill such as this partnership between the SAPS and business is indeed also an investment in the economy.

Mr Sam Seipei of BHP Billiton reiterated this message by saying that an organization’s strength lies in its people. He said that the SAPS is now opening opportunities to its people who may not even be aware that they can contribute in other ways and manifest their skills and talents in different directions of the SAPS. “We want current members and members-to-be to go into these Career Centres and get out of there enriched - that is why we invested in this,” he said.

The Minister for Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula, reminded members not to define themselves in a “little” role. It is not just the persons in positions of authority who matter. It is the unsung heroes and heroines that make the difference. You have to define the conditions in your own environment and create a better life for yourself.

Therefore, if you are frustrated with your current circumstances and are struggling to find purpose in your career, the Career and Information Centres may just be the opportunity you have been waiting for. Everyone has some talent or gift - it seems easy to release your potential if you understand exactly how to apply it best within the SAPS. Visit the Career and Information Centre which will be opening in your province this year. The SAPS Journal will keep you updated with information on the Career Centres.