R19,5m training, zero jobs: Northern Cape traffic trainees left in limbo

A group of young traffic trainees say they have been left in the lurch after paying for remedial training out of their own pockets, despite earlier promises of placements to strengthen road traffic enforcement in the Northern Cape.

This comes even though R19.5 million was budgeted in the 2025/26 financial year for the appointment of 50 traffic officials in the province. Two months after passing all their modules, 32 trainees remain at home, unemployed.

They were part of an intake of 50 trainees who were enrolled to undergo training at the Matjhabeng Traffic Training Academy in Welkom in October 2024. 

The total cost of training reportedly amounted to around R20 million.

The portfolio committee on transport, safety and liaison earlier this year questioned the 68 percent failure rate, where only 16 recruits obtained Road Traffic Law Enforcement (NQF Level 4) certificates.

At the graduation ceremony in January, the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison indicated that 48 trainees had written their final assessments.

However, one of the trainees was taken out of the programme after undergoing disciplinary processes, and another one was found guilty of cheating in one of the examinations and was disciplined.

The 32 trainees who had not initially met all the requirements were allowed to join the remedial programme and sit for the Final Integrated Summative Assessment (FISA). However, they said they received no support during this period. One trainee took his own life, while another turned to drugs and eventually dropped out.

The group explained that the pressure came from being forced to write weekly exams and submit regular assignments. “It should have been a three-year course because of the amount of work that had to be covered and the highly pressured environment,” one trainee said.

The trainee recruits said they were advised in October 2024 that they could resume training. 

“The college only accepts recruits who were selected by the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, where no walk-ins are accepted,” said one trainee.

“In December 2024, we were served with termination letters indicating that, as we had failed the course, we would be solely responsible for covering the entire cost of the remedial programme. We were desperate for work and wanted to finish the course so that we could be employed.

"Some of our parents had to take out loans because we had to fund the course fees, accommodation, transport and spending allowances, which turned out to be an extremely costly exercise.” 

The trainees added that after passing the course in June, they were informed that there were no positions available for them. 

“We are unable to apply for other positions because the certificates can only be collected by the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison. All the doors have been slammed in our faces, where we are fighting for what was promised to us.

"We learnt that 23 recruits from Hantam were since employed, while we have been left hung out to dry.”

 The Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison had not responded at the time of publication.