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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is starting to scour more areas of the province for prospective members, and the Okanagan is one area that is getting quite a bit of attention these days.
The Mounties were in West Kelowna on Monday and Tuesday to give a pair of career presentations as well as an RCMP entrance exam workshop for those who are interested in becoming members. The presentations and workshops, which have been happening in the Interior for about a year now, are held approximately every six weeks.
“We actually have quite a few people attending the exam preparations and the career presentations in the Okanagan,” Const. Erika Dirsus said this week from provincial RCMP headquarters in Surrey.
Recruitment presentations are held weekly in the Lower Mainland, and they are also now being conducted in smaller locations like Mission, Squamish and Cranbrook.
Dirsus said the force will be losing more members in the next few years as Baby Boomers retire, and she added more police officers are required due to a growing population.
“We realize that we’re missing out on a lot of people who would probably love to at least learn about the RCMP and how to apply and become police officers,” Dirsus said. “We’re hiring about 1,200 a year, and we have been for the last couple of years, and probably for another two to three years another 1,200 per year Canada-wide.”
Most of the information for prospective members can be found on the RCMP’s website, but attending a presentation or workshop can provide a clearer vision of what prospective members will face if they make it to the RCMP Academy in Regina. The entrance exam workshop also sheds light on specific questions applicants will face on the online test that qualifies them for the academy.
“Sometimes there’s questions that an applicant or a potential applicant would like more information on, and we answer that,” said Dirsus, who has been recruiting members for three years. “Plus you’re speaking to a real-life Mountie.”
Officers can also offer tips on how cadets can survive the physical abilities requirement evaluation, also known as PARE, once they reach the academy.
Dirsus said anyone interested in a career as a Mountie should check out the RCMP website for dates and locations of career presentations and exam workshops in the Okanagan.
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