Mudgee State Emergency Service (SES) Unit Controller Ian Forrester’s hopes to deliver cadet training to the local area is gaining momentum with an expressions of interest.
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Mr Forrester has been a trainer at cadet training courses for high school students aged 15 years and over in other areas such as Gilgandra.
He hopes to hold a local course annually.
The five-day course includes team building activities, safety, a visit to the local unit, urban and land search and rescue, as well as flood boat exercises that locally would be held at Windamere Dam, and more.
Mr Forrester said the courses provide awareness of the organisation to young people and often net new recruits.
“We’ve had an expression of interest from Mudgee High School for 2014.
“It would be great to get the exposure with young people from the local area,” he said.
“It would be great to see some go onto become members, even those that go to university can still transfer to the local unit where they’ve got their campus.”
He added that from what he’s seen at training courses, existing SES volunteers also get something out of working with the cadets.
“What I’ve seen is that older SES members that haven’t had much to do with cadets as soon as they’re involved with them they really enjoy themselves,” he said.
SES cadets finished sixth at the recent Australian Fire Cadet Championships, which Mr Forrester said shows the versatility of the organisation’s young recruits as a lot of he exercises weren’t SES specific.
“It was great to see them do well because cadets are the future of the service and getting people involved in the SES at an early age and seeing what it’s all about is a good thing,” he said.
For more information on SES Cadet training visit ses.nsw.gov.au/volunteering/cadets
