230 Youth trained in heavy duty machinery operation at Afrisipakrom

The Global Institute of Mines and Safety (GIMS), a private institution at Afrisipakrom in the Ahafo Region, has trained 230 youth, including females, in the operation of heavy-duty machines.

The beneficiaries were trained to operate excavators, dump trucks, wheel loaders, backhoes, graders, cesspit emptier trucks, general drilling, bulldozers, forklifts and mobile crane operations.

At the graduation ceremony last Friday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GIMS, Gabriel Larry Yennugu, said that so far, the institute had graduated more than 1,000 youth since its establishment in 2018.

Employment

He explained that some of the trainees had secured employment in mining and construction firms across the country.

A section of the graduates

Mr Yennugu said each batch of beneficiaries was trained for three months with the ultimate goal of providing them with employable skills.

He said the institute empowered the trainees to predict their future by helping them to build it and urged them to use the knowledge acquired wisely, and never stop learning.

The 230 youth, who acquired skills in the operation of the heavy-duty machines, are the first batch of the 2025 trainees.

The institute works in partnership with public institutions such as the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the National Ambulance Service (NAS), the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Minerals Commission to train the beneficiaries.

Mr Yennugu said the GNFS and NAS provided them with the expertise and resources, which were crucial in enhancing the trainees' skills in emergency response and first aid.
He explained that the DVLA and the Minerals Commission partnership had helped the institute to offer programmes that met the highest standards and regulatory requirements.

Appeal  

Mr Yennugu appealed to mining companies to employ and accept interns and attachés from the institute, explaining that they had acquired the necessary skills.

"They have been trained thoroughly and are well prepared to work in the mining industry," he said.

He called on mining companies and contractors to cancel the Minerals Commission certificates requirement or demand from job seekers in their companies, as it had hindered several young people from gaining employment.

Mr Yennugu said it was rather the responsibility of the companies to help new employees acquire the certificates after their employment.

He thanked the chiefs in the Newmont host communities, as well as Newmont Akyem and Ahafo Development foundations, for their support to the institute.

He said their financial support had enabled them to procure top-notch training facilities and equipment, helping to shape the trainees into competent professionals.

Mr Yennugu urged the trainees to demonstrate exceptional competence and dedication to their craft and hold onto the values of hard work, honesty and responsibility.

He advised them to stay away from negative lifestyles such as lies, laziness and drugs, explaining that such attitudes could destroy their future careers.

Upgrade

The Dean of Engineering at the Sunyani Technical University (STU), Professor Samuel Wiafi, urged the graduates to continue to upgrade themselves to higher levels.

Prof. Wiafi said there were several top-up engineering programmes at the STU they could pursue to upgrade themselves and pledged the university's commitment to partner the institute to train qualified young people in the engineering field.

Some of the beneficiaries, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, said the skills acquired through their training would help them acquire decent jobs and make them useful in society.

An 18-year-old lady, Esther Agyenim, said she had acquired other skills such as first aid management and fire control skills.

She said those skills would help her to attend to first aid issues and control fire at home and public places when the need arose.