Cadets Equipped With Skills For Life

Every Thursday night, a group of savvy and enthusiastic teenagers meet to share life skills, laughs and lessons.

They are the PCYC Emergency Services Cadet Unit.

Cadets is a fun and encouraging program that equips its participants with skills and knowledge to take into the world, whether the participants choose to pursue the emergency services or not.

“The last few weeks we’ve been doing preparation for storm season,” said PCYC Emergency Services Cadet Unit Coordinator Andrew Nicholson.

“We’ve been teaching them about knots, radios, what to have, tarping, sandbagging and getting them all to work as a team to do it.”

Andrew has been in the coordinator role for the last five years but involved in the SES for much longer.

“At the time, I’d just gone into being the deputy local controller then three months later, all of a sudden, I became the one in charge, so I had some real sudden learning curves,” he laughed.

He says he’s loved the responsibility of teaching children these valuable life skills.

“Getting out there, helping the young ones, getting them up to speed with life skills and getting to know them and helping them along and keeping them off the streets,” he said.

“I have seen some really good cadets come through over the years and quite a few that wish they could stay.”

There are currently 12 cadets in the unit, including 15-year-old Noah Weber and 16-year-old Bianca Oakley.

They both agree that cadets is a great place to make friends and learn new skills, and that’s what keeps them coming back.

“All the people and the community, honestly,” said Bianca.

“I know just about everyone here off by heart.”

“The life skills that I’ve learnt, the people that I’ve made friends with and just everyone in general, they’re just great people to be around,” agreed Noah.

Noah plans to contribute his Cadets skills to the air force when he finishes school, while Bianca is already in the field, recently joining the SES Calen Unit.

“Since I started Cadets, I’ve always wanted to be in the SES because my mum was, my step-dad has been, I’ve always been around it so it’s just kind of normal,” said Bianca.

“Now that I’m 16, I can actually go and be a part of it and be involved.”

An annual highlight for Cadets is the Cadet Games held in Townsville every year, giving cadets the opportunity to put their skills to the test in a competitive environment and meet different cadet units while doing so.

“It was a lot of medical-based stuff, this year,” said Noah.

“First aid, triage, the stretcher obstacle course,” added Bianca.

The Games includes other cadet units including Navy, Army and Surf Life Savers from areas including Emerald, Charters Towers, Hughenden, Cairns and Thursday Island.

“It’s open to any cadet group agency,” said Andrew.

The Mackay group won the Squad Challenge in 2021 and Noah says they weren’t far off this year.

For more information on PCYC Emergency Services Cadets or to join, visit www.pcyc.org.au/join-a-unit.

Bianca and Noah’s Disaster Tips

Ask the SES or Emergency Service Cadets – “Most events we go to, we’ll set up a tent where we’ll have bags, folders, a book with all the stuff you should know,” said Bianca.

Check your risk – “Check where you are, make sure you’re not going to get flooded out,” said Noah. “If you are going to get flooded out, move when you can. There’s no point in waiting until it’s at your doorstep.”

Check the storm guide – “There are websites that you can use,” said Bianca. “The government has a section on their website where you can download information.”

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