Determined to make a difference in Kareedouw, a small town that battles with poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and unemployment, Jacobus Jantjes makes use of his military training and many years in the security sector to offer the best quality security training course free of charge.
After spending many years in the South African Army, and later as a security manager and director of Western Province Protection Services, his own company in Cape Town, which has since closed, Jantjes has returned home to Kareedouw in 2021 to retire.
Familiar with the challenges faced in his home town where poverty and unemployment are high and opportunities are scarce, he wanted to assist as many people as he could by using his knowledge and experience.
Since there was no security training facility in Kareedouw, in 2022 Jantjes established his security training company, JF Security Services, where he has continued to help students from Kareedouw and surrounding areas to prepare for the security training examination.
“With the closest security training facility in Jeffreys Bay, more than 60km away, many people do not have money to travel for the training and to write the exam,” said Jantjes.
“My dream is to plough back into the community I grew up in, and share my experience and leadership where needed. This is why I decided to register JF Security Services, to create job opportunities for those interested in security services locally and provide training by assisting students who are registered for security training with the Scorpion Security Academy in Jeffreys Bay.”
Jantjes said that when all students have registered for the examination, he collects the question papers in Jeffreys Bay, and assists them with studying for the security training examination.
“Through the training assistance I offer, the students can learn the necessary theoretical skills to write the exam. The training also offers them an opportunity to ask questions they are uncertain about ahead of the exam,” said Jantjes.
Once the students have passed the examination, he said to obtain their qualification they are required to register their specific grade online or in person at the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), which is based in Gqeberha.
Depending on the grade or course, registration costs between R700 and R1 310 at Scorpion Security Academy, and to register for a security training certificate with PSIRA, the cost is R470 online and R260 in person.
Jantjes emphasised that even though his company is registered with PSIRA, he does not work for Scorpion Security Academy or PSIRA, but that he solely wanted to assist students to understand their course material before writing the security training examination.
He further said that security guards are high in demand, with many vacancies throughout the country and even locally.
“It is great that, through training, people in Kareedouw and Kou-Kamma have been able to find work to support their families, buy food, pay school fees and buy clothing,” said Jantjes.
At the recent handover of the security certificates, the recipients were Henry Jaggers, Julian Kapank, Siyabulele Jafta, Sivuyile Zamani, Tamara Qwazi, Simamkele Mambele, Shaun Jordaan, Marinus Hendricks, Sarotine Prins, Ashlin Ludick, Josephine Trompetter, and Maryna Goeda.
To offer further assistance to people in the area, he said he hopes to establish a training centre in Kareedouw, which will cater for the entire Kou-Kamma Municipality.
Some of the training he hopes to offer will include basic training in the sectors of security, firefighting and first aid.
“I hope to have a security training centre in Kareedouw so that the students do not have to travel far to obtain the qualification they need to find work,” said Jantjes.
For more information contact Jacobus Jantjes at 069 677 4430 or email jantjesjacobus@gmail.com.
