Enterprises University of Pretoria (Enterprises UP) has a long-standing and fruitful partnership with the City of Tshwane. It has offered, and continues to offer, various training and skills development services to the city. Several special projects have been executed, the latest of which involves providing formal training for members of the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) Ceremonial Unit.

The TMPD band was founded in November 2012. Thirty-two members signed up but they had virtually no musical background or experience. The TMPD band subsequently became the TMPD Ceremonial Unit and was branded as one of the Executive Mayor's special projects. The unit now operates on a permanent basis and consists of a band, a choir and a drill squad that perform exclusively at ceremonial events of the City of Tshwane.

Recently, the whole unit began receiving formal training, facilitated by the Department of Music at the University of Pretoria (UP) and Enterprises UP. This was prompted by UP to increase the unit's strength and capacity in view of plans for it to start rendering services to the entire province. The training programme for the band, which started in January 2016 and will run until the end of the year, consists of theoretical and practical tutorials.

Sixteen current band members are receiving training in the trumpet, trombone, guitar, saxophone, keyboard and percussion.

For more information on the training solutions offered by Enterprises UP, visit http://www.enterprises.up.ac.za/training-solutions/