More than 50 new emergency care professionals and rescue technicians graduated from the Western Cape Government’s College of Emergency Care, strengthening the province’s frontline emergency medical services.
The Class of 2025 includes 43 graduates who completed the Higher Certificate in Emergency Care, as well as nine rescue technicians who received specialised training to assist in complex rescue situations.
Emergency care colleges play a central role in training the country’s public emergency medical workforce. Nationally, around 95 percent of emergency medical service personnel in the public sector receive their training at these institutions. The latest group of graduates will now join services across the Western Cape and South Africa, contributing to emergency response teams that assist communities during medical crises.
Western Cape Minister of Health and Wellness Mireille Wenger congratulated the graduates and acknowledged the responsibility that comes with the profession. She said emergency care demands courage, clear thinking under pressure and a commitment to helping others during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
The College of Emergency Care has been training emergency personnel since the 1980s and remains an important training institution in the province. In 2022, it became the first provincial college in South Africa to be accredited to offer the NQF Level 5 Higher Certificate Emergency Care Assistant qualification. In 2024, the college also introduced the three year Diploma in Emergency Medical Care.
College principal Dr Kuben Moodley said the graduates are entering a challenging but meaningful profession. He said emergency care workers often meet people at their most vulnerable and the training provided at the college prepares students to respond with both skill and compassion.
As the graduates begin their careers, they join a network of emergency care professionals working to support and protect communities across the province.
