Ninety-three young Ghanaians, who have successfully completed Mantrac Ghana Limited’s Technicians for Africa Programme, have been awarded Foundational Certification at the Mohamed L Mansour Component Rebuild Centre at Ewusiejoe near Takoradi.
The Technicians for Africa Programme, an 18-module free online programme, which spans 3-6 months, is fully sponsored by Caterpillar, the global leader in the manufacture of equipment for the construction, mining, oil and gas industries.
Since its inception six years ago, the Caterpillar/Mantrac partnered initiative has trained a total of 537 people out of which more than 50 are gainfully employed by Mantrac Ghana Limited across its branches in the country and the others are also gainfully employed by other companies.
Mantrac Ghana Limited, in a deliberate attempt to offer opportunities for those who merit employment, has created a Curriculum Vitae bank for the yet to be employed trained technicians for consideration in the event of any vacancy.
The Service Manager at the Takoradi Component Rebuild Centre, Andrew Sarson, said at the fifth graduation ceremony that the Technicians for Africa Programme had been a great success so far as lot of young people have benefited from it.
“Caterpillar recognized shortage of opportunity for grassroots level entry into the profession and collaborated with Mantrac to create the platform for the youth to get trained. It is a good introduction to the industry, and we always encourage young school leavers and university graduates to take advantage and take the course,” he said.
Ghana, he noted, had opportunities in the mining and construction fields and needed qualified technicians to fill the key positions.
The Product Support Manager at Mantrac Ghana Limited, Adam Martin, in an engagement with the participants via video conference, said a lot of job opportunities exist in the technical sector.
“Having a technical knowledge and experience would be an added advantage for job seekers since it will help them understand the issues and complexities involved in the field,” he said.
Esther NtowKesse, who is currently doing her National Service with Genser Energy, was among the few females that graduated under the Technicians for Africa programme.
She advised ladies to have faith in themselves and pursue whatever they seek to do in life.
The Technicians for Africa Programme was launched in Ghana in November 2016 and seeks to train highly valued service technicians in the heavy equipment industry for career opportunities.
Though the programme is focused on mechanical engineering students from the technical universities and institutions, other individuals without any technical background but have the desire for career opportunities in that field can also apply.
