The Guinean government’s Delivery Unit (DU) today announced a plan to launch the development of the Mobile Training Unit (MTU) program, starting in the Boké region, to provide Guineans with post-graduate hands-on training and workforce insertion in the mining sector to boost skills and thereby employment.

The first MTU in Boké will provide practical training opportunities for two technical specialties: mechanics and heavy machinery operators. The DU has received funding pledges for the first MTU from a number of institutions including the Government of Guinea which is committed to furthering the mining expertise of Guinean nationals.

Mamady Youla, Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea commented, “I am pleased to announce that the first Mobile Training Unit will be operational from the first quarter of 2018 as part of the Centre de Formation Professionnelle in the city of Boké. This initiative demonstrates the engagement and determination of the Government of Guinea to promote youth employment and support their insertion into the workforce, especially in the mining sector.”

The MTU is aiming to train approximately 150 people in the first year to drive and repair heavy machinery. Currently there are no training programs on heavy machinery in the Guinean education system. An international training provider is being recruited to provide the training and to coach local trainers to take over after the first year.

“This is an exciting time for mining in the Boké region as many of the companies will be transitioning from exploration to exploitation in the next couple of years. It will be important for Guinean nationals to be ready to take up the jobs that will start to come available,” added Abdoulaye Magassouba, Minister of Mines and Geology of the Republic of Guinea.

Mining companies need skilled technicians to operate and maintain expensive heavy machinery safely. “GAC should be starting operations in the Boké region at the end of 2018. We expect to be operational for at least twenty years, moving bauxite from the mine via rail to the port in Kamsar. We will be looking for skilled technicians to support us in this work, and anticipate that many of these will come from the local area,” said Daniel Cornel Pop, the Chief Operating Officer of Guinea Alumina Corporation S.A. (GAC).

The aim is to start training the first class of students in January 2018 and to pilot curricula and training approaches that will then be mainstreamed into the national training institutions. Additional MTUs are planned in other cities targeting other technical competencies required by the mining sector.

The DU, which functions under the Office of the Prime Minister of Guinea, aims to accelerate the implementation of Government flagship initiatives through the development and incubation of effective, sustainable, and results-oriented implementation and governance approaches. Its pilot projects are focused on mining, agriculture and leadership development.

In the mining sector, the DU’s interventions focus on increasing the economic impact of mineral production on the Guinean population. It is supporting the Government of Guinea with three priority interventions:

1. Mobile Training Units: The creation of MTUs in Boké and possibly other cities to increase the number of Guineans working in the mining sector.
2. The Mining Hub: The establishment of a Mining Hub to harness the impact of mining activity as a means of creating jobs, establishing entrepreneurs, and growing existing enterprises.
3. Transforming the Higher Institute of Mining and Geology (ISMG) into a Center of Excellence for the Mano River Union: Further improving the quality of the training provided by the ISMG in Boke.