A ceremony has been held in Obuasi to usher in over 100 youth from Obuasi into the AGA’s Community Youth Apprentice programme.
The training program is expected to equip the youth with practical training to prepare them for the job market.
The one-year program will be held at the Mac Partners Training Institute, formerly known as AGA Engineering Training Centre in Obuasi.
This year’s enrolment is the 3rd batch of the Youth Apprenticeship program.
The training will ostensibly focus on welding and fabrication, mechanical technician, and electrical technician, with Anglogold Ashanti absorbing the cost of the training.
The Managing Director of Anglogold Ashanti, Eric Asubonteng in his speech mentioned that since the redevelopment of the Obuasi Mine in 2019, AGA has been able to train 128 youth in welding and fabrication, auto mechanics, auto electrician, forklift operation, and graders as part of their erstwhile 3-year Social Management Plan.
Mr. Asubonteng again said that a key feature in their 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan launched in July this year was the Youth Apprenticeship Training programme which, he said, he was particularly excited the company has been able to honour their commitment to the communities through the training.
In furtherance of this, he reminded the beneficiaries to remain dedicated, work hard a remain focused in their quest to acquire hands-on experience in their chosen fields.
“I am optimistic that these youth who are the future of Obuasi will be focused, be punctual and learn to apply themselves to good work”.
The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Sulemanu Koneyalso expressed his delight over the development of various skills of the youth in the host community.
He emphasized the need to develop a pipeline of skills, which is one of the problems of management in the country.
He added that basic technical skills are needed to develop the country so that the skills of foreign experts and expatriates are not relied on.
He recognized and acknowledged Mac-Partners Training Institute as a center of excellence and a member of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
He added that the economy of Obuasi will be boosted by the presence of schools in Obuasi.
He also pleaded for collaboration and support from various stakeholders to Anglogold Ashanti as a means of providing leverage and rendering their support to help brighten the fortunes of the Obuasi Community and Ghana as a whole.
The Adansehene, Opagyakotwere Bonsrah Afriyie II reiterated that a big opportunity has been given to the beneficiaries of the community Youth Apprenticeship Training programme, hence urging them to take full advantage of it.
He was particularly excited about the involvement, stating that “whatever a man can do, a woman can do it better.”
Through the joint venture, students who would want to be entrepreneurs can also come together and establish their own businesses to reduce the current rate of unemployment in society and the nation at large.
Students who have been selected for this training are to develop a strong passion for what they do in order to yield a positive output at the end of the training,
Lydia Obiribia Asubonteng, an electrical student and a beneficiary of the 2022-2023 Community Youth Apprentice Training expressed her gratitude to Anglogold Ashanti for enrolling them in the program.
She vouched on behalf of herself and her other colleagues to be committed and devoted to the opportunity that has come their way.
