Newmont Africa’s Akyem mine has held a graduation ceremony for 20 host community youth who have completed an intensive one-year training in sustainable mining and process plant operations.

The Mine’s Learnership Programme is a specialised technical course that equips trainees with operational and technical competences for job opportunities in mining and the industrial sectors.

This year’s graduating class is the sixth cohort of the programme, with beneficiaries selected from the host communities. The course, which is predominantly practical, also offers the trainees additional skills in mentorship and leadership, thus preparing them for potential leadership roles within the company and elsewhere. In line with the company’s value of inclusion, 13 of the trainees who graduated were females.

General Manager of the Akyem Mine, Daniel Egya-Mensah, in a speech read on his behalf, said that, “Newmont’s presence in the Birim North District is to serve as a catalyst for local economic transformation through prudent, inclusive, and sustainable mining activities. By investing over GHȼ1.4 million in these skilled graduates, Newmont ensures that our host communities continue to gain tangible value from our presence.”

He mentioned the Akyem Mine’s intent on living a positive legacy with local communities, in terms of skills and capacity development. “We will continue to collaborate with stakeholders, especially you, our communities, on the design and implementation of interventions aimed at improving the human resource base in the communities, and ensuring that we have a local pipeline of highly sought-after skills.”

The Senior Manager of Sustainability and External Relations for the Mine, Derek Boateng, commended the trainees for their diligence in completing the highly competitive course. “Your performance in the programme demonstrates the benefits of our collaborative efforts at creating value through our operations, which clearly underscores our purpose as a business”, he said.

Mr. Boateng stated that knowledge transfer and capacity building of the youth from the host communities underlies Newmont’s strategic plan to invest in the social and economic transformation of its host communities.

“Our social impact programmes are integral to achieving our mining objectives. We believe that the value we create can only be meaningful if our operations positively impact the lives of stakeholders and the environment,” he added.

Akyem Mine’s Learnership Training Programme was introduced in November 2015, as part of Newmont’s social responsibility interventions, to provide operational and employable skills to the youth. 112 trainees have successfully graduated from the programme since its inception, majority of whom have been employed by Newmont or by contractors on the mine.

A new batch of 20 trainees have also been selected to begin the Learnership Training and Apprenticeship Programmes in 2023. The company said it hopes to create a skilled pool of technicians who are ready for the job market.