Manso-Abore (Ash), Nov. 21, GNA – Asanko Gold Ghana Limited, a mining company, has launched a Graduate Training Programme to develop the practical skills of the beneficiaries in a bid to offer them employment opportunities in the mining industry.
The move, according to the officials, was in consonance with the new Mineral and Mining Legislative Instrument 2431(2020), seeking to improve the local content law.
Twenty-four (24) graduate trainees, selected after completing an aptitude test, are benefitting from the maiden programme, with 33 percent of the number being females.
They comprise those who have had their national service with the company as well as graduates from within the communities where the mining company operates.
Mr Andrew McGowan, the General Manager of Asanko, addressing the launching ceremony at Manso-Abore in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region, advised beneficiaries of the training programme to demonstrate seriousness in the exercise.
This was because the programme intended to build their capacity for varied employment opportunities in the mining industry, he noted.
According to the General Manager, the company was committed to assisting the youth, especially graduate trainees to broaden their horizons, exposing them to the employment demands of the mining industry.
He charged them to be disciplined and conform to all the rules and regulations of the company as they went through the training.
Mr Mohaiden Mohammed, the Organizational Capability Manager of Asanko, said the training programme focused on engaging 60 percent of those in the sciences with 40 percent in the humanities.
The authorities, he said, had also found the need to train a substantial number of female graduates for job opportunities in the mining industry to help engender equity in the workforce.
He reminded the beneficiary trainees of the critical role the advancement in technology was playing in the operations of the mining industry.
Consequently, they should adhere to the demands of the contemporary working environment by embracing courses in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) to add value to the skills sets.
Mr Frederick Attakumah, Executive Vice-President and Managing Director, Asanko Gold Ghana Limited, in a brief message, asked the beneficiary trainees to work hard to justify the reasons for the investment in their training.
He said the company was determined to present the employees with training programmes to build their knowledge base for effective work.
Ms Elizabeth Bofa, a graduate trainee from the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), and one of the beneficiaries of the training programme, was elated about the prospects of getting employed in the mining industry.
GNA