Technical and vocational training

Liberia requires more candidates for critical technical positions, so in 2017 we opened the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in Yekepa, with a $7m investment. Providing young people with globally recognised and certified apprenticeship training for roles such as diesel mechanics, electricians, mechanical fitters, boilermakers, welders and instrumentation technicians, it is one of a kind in the country.

The first group of 46 apprentices started their training in March 2018, and in March 2019 the second group of 54 students, including 6 women entered the training programme. Our aim is to have 50 apprentices graduating every year.

Skills training in communities

Recognising the impact of mining on livelihoods that depend on the land, we partner with NGOs in a Livelihood Restoration Programme that encompasses education, skills development and training as well as savings, loans and agriculture. The programme, which forms part of the County and Social Development Fund, has trained people in skills ranging from agriculture to carpentry, masonry and auto mechanics.

 

Support for education

In our Yekepa concession area we run three schools and have invested 3.8 million USD during 2015-2018 in these three schools. In 2017 we had 1,417 students enrolled across our three schools, and we have upgraded teachers’ positions and salaries to ensure that our schools attract the best teachers in the country.

 

 

Another great example of our support for education, is to support highly qualified young Liberians to obtain advanced academic degrees from accredited academic institutions of higher learning in the fields of study related to mining and other relevant industries in Liberia. In September 2019, six young Liberians were awarded academic scholarships. Since 2012, 35 students have benefitted from this programme. To date, the total number of beneficiaries is 40 (inclusive of the six students combined who received scholarships in September 2019).