58 YOUTH UNDERGO TRAINING IN VOCATIONAL SKILLS (PAGE 11)

FIFTY-EIGHT youth from 15 communities in the Nzema East Municipality and the Ellembele District in the Western Region have undergone six months training in vocational skills with support from Adamus Resources and the Australian High Commission in Ghana.
They were trained in batik and tie-dye, soap making, home management, catering and information technology at the Axim Community Development Vocational Training Institute.
The beneficiaries were from communities such as Duale, Akango, Salman, Aluku, Anwia, Teleku Bokazo, Nkroful, Kikam, Asasetre, Nvuma, Avrebo, Nzema, Adelekezo and Awukyire.
Out of the 58 trained persons, 33 were presented with self-business start-up materials worth GH¢200 and cash of GH¢50 each, while the remaining 25 would be given employment in catering, house keeping and clerical services at Adamus Resources when it commences business.
In his remarks at the opening ceremony, the Director of Operations of Adamus Resources, Mr Mark Connely, said the purpose of the programme was to equip the communities in and around the company’s operational areas with entrepreneurial skills to enable them to set themselves up in business.
He said the objective of providing this type of training was to prepare the participants in readiness for jobs in the mining sector and to give them the opportunities to be self-employed.
“I must emphasise that Adamus resources should be seen by its host communities and stakeholders as their development partner rather than an exploiter of the people and their resources,” he said.
Mr Connely added that the company believed in community stakeholders’ involvement, dialogue, mutual respect and understanding to ensure peace and harmony between the company and its host.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ms Joyce Aryee, commended the company, the Australian High Commission in Ghana and the training institution for the initiative.
She said human resource development was one of the most valuable assets in the life of every nation.
The CEO said as part of the commitment to the development of human resources and for peaceful co-existence with their host communities, the Chamber had instituted a chair for Geo-Environmental Studies at the University of Mines and Technology at Tarkwa.
Ms Aryee said this would enable students to study and handle environmental and social issues that confronted the industry.
That aside, she said, with the support from the Business Advocacy Challenge Fund, the Chamber had also embarked on a project to develop standards for compensation for farmers who lost their lands to the mining activities with special emphasis on social dimensions on compensation.
Ms Aryee expressed the hope that the move would go a long way to help avert some of the problems member companies had with their host communities.