“Newmont ensures that its host communities continue to gain tangible value from its presence,” Mr Daniel Egya-Mensah, the General Manager of the Akyem Mine said in a statement issued in Accra.

About 20 host community youth, who have completed an intensive one-year training in sustainable mining and process plant operations have graduated from the Newmont Africa’s Akyem Mine’s Learnership Programme.

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

He said the Akyem Mine’s intent on living a positive legacy with local communities, in terms of skills and capacity development.

This year’s graduating class was the sixth cohort of the programme, where beneficiaries were selected from the host communities through a rigorous and transparent assessment process.

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, thirteen of the trainees, who graduated were females.

Mr Egya-Mensah said, “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.”

He said, “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.”

Mr Derek Boateng, the Senior Manager of Sustainability and External Relations for the Mine, 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 said the 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.

One hundred and twelve trainees (112) have successfully graduated from the programme since its inception, majority of whom were employed by Newmont or by contractors on the mine.

A new batch of 20 trainees are to begin the Learnership Training and Apprenticeship Programmes in 2023.

The company hopes to create a skilled pool of technicians who are ready for the job market.