This is good news to the unemployed youths. The London Metropolitan Police has made the ability to speak Yoruba a prerequisite to being offered a job as a policeman. Those who can, apart from English, speak other langages like Arabic, Bengali, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Sinhala (Sri Lanka), Spanish, Turkish are also eligible.
The Met. Police, in its website, metpolicecareers.co.uk, wrote: “Policing one of the world’s most vibrant cities can be challenging, exciting and, with a supportive team around you, incredibly rewarding.”
It added in the Daily Mail publication: “Policing a population of over 8 million people, home to over 40 different communities who speak in excess of 300 different languages is challenging and complex, so it’s critical we recruit the best people with the right skills to police London.”
For this reason, the Met Police said it is introducing an additional language eligibility criteria as a key skill to become a Police Constable. “Whilst our Police Officers are able to effectively carry out their duties without the ability to speak a second language, a Police Constable with this skill is an asset in helping both themselves and their colleagues to more effectively engage with the community and deal with everyday policing situations. To apply you must be able to speak one of the 14 languages below:
· Yoruba (Nigeria)
· Hebrew
· Arabic
· Hindi
· Punjabi
· Italian
· German
· Turkish
· Greek
· Spanish
· Polish
· Portuguese
· Sinhali (Sri Lanka)
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· Bengali