The 10 students graduated from the Indigenous Police Recruitment Our Way Delivery (IPROWD) training program.

The graduation ceremony was held at TAFE Illawarra’s Bomaderry campus, where the students were presented certificates in front of family and friends.

The graduates, from Shoalhaven and the Illawarra, completed 18 weeks of training.

Darren Wellington said the course was tough but rewarding. He said it provided students with insight into what it would be like to be a police officer.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione was among a number of senior police to join proud family and friends of the Aboriginal men and women as they graduated from the IPROWD program.

Following the graduation, students will be able to join the NSW Police Force, with many aiming for acceptance into the January 2014 intake at the NSW Police Academy.

Commissioner Scipione said some wonderful opportunities lay ahead for the students.

“Since the launch of IPROWD, more than 70 graduates have gone on to become probationary constables or follow other career paths within the NSW Police Force,” the Commissioner said.

He said the percentage of Aboriginal officers within the NSW Police Force was not high enough.

“Indigenous officers bring with them understanding and experience of their own culture. They have a blood bond with communities that are so much a part of NSW,” he said.

IPROWD is a partnership between TAFE NSW, NSW Police Force and Charles Sturt University.

The students received a Certificate III Vocational and Study Pathways, which meets the entry requirements for the Associate Degree in Policing Practice offered by Charles Sturt University.