By Yussif Ibrahim
Obuasi (Ash), Sept. 05, GNA – AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine, has so far retained 52 per cent of beneficiaries of its Graduate Trainee Programme since 2019.
Mr Eric Asubonteng, the Managing Director who announced this, said the decision to engage some of the trainees was informed by the company’s commitment to youth development.
He was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the passing out ceremony of the third batch of trainees in Obuasi.
The mentorship programme which provides opportunity for graduate students to undergo training in the mining firm is aimed at offering practical experience to the beneficiaries who are mostly aspiring to work in the mining industry.
He said a total of 29 graduates had benefitted from the programme with a chunk of the beneficiaries being indigenes of Obuasi, adding that 11 new graduates had been enrolled to begin the next phase of the programme.
The Managing Director was excited about how the programme was grooming the beneficiaries into smart and promising professionals with huge potentials for successful careers in mining.
As part of the programme, the trainees are tasked to undertake initiatives that seek to provide business solutions, and ensure improvement in cost efficiency, safety, and operational efficiencies.
He disclosed that the company had taken keen interest and subsequently adopted and implemented some of the initiative for the benefit of the organisation and its stakeholders.
Professor Anthony Simons, the Pro-Vice chancellor of the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa who was a guest at the ceremony, lauded AngloGold Ashanti for introducing the training programme, saying that such on-the-job training opportunities were not common in the industry.
“Practical hands-on experience is critical to workers competency and productivity.
In the mining industry, growth sustainability, training and development of human resource cannot be underestimated,” he opined.
He implored other mining companies in the country to emulate the initiative by AngloGold to equip fresh graduates with the requisite training and skills to prepare them for the job market.
Master Ebenezer Nicholson, the overall best Graduate Trainee, commended AngloGold for exposing them to the practical aspects the courses they pursued in school.
GNA