Set to join forces with the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) to roll out a programme in Mineral Prospecting and Map Reading in several communities across the country, the Guyana Mining School and Training Centre is aiming to play a more impactful role in ensuring the enhanced performance of the mining sector in 2019, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the School’s Board of Directors, Audwin Rutherford, has told the Stabroek Business.
On Wednesday Rutherford told the Stabroek Business that while its 2019 training regime will continue to focus on upgrading mine managers and other functionaries who are already part of the mining sector, its focus on seeking to merge its programme into the mainstream curriculum was aimed at, as far as possible, infusing skills into young people that were likely to “create openings” for them in the mining sector. “Given the nature of the industry we believe that it would be to its advantage if we can have young people coming after already having secured some level of training in areas that have to do with mining,” Rutherford told Stabroek Business.
Part of the Mining School’s responsibility is to provide safety and health training to workers in the sector, a responsibility widely regarded as critical to the stability of the gold mining industry.
Asked about the impact of the training against the backdrop what is widely believed to be the frequency of mining accidents, Rutherford said that where training was not attended by adherence to what was taught, there was little that the Mining School could do. He said that the training was seeking to target mine managers, primarily. “We want to increase our impact but there is also the regulation aspect to consider. We can do the training but regulation is important,” Rutherford said. He added that “It is not just delivering the training but policing, as well, that is a challenge,” while noting that the effectiveness of the Mining School’s input had to be balanced against the vastness of the landscape being mined.
Administrator/Coordinator of the Mining School, John Applewhite-Hercules, told Stabroek Business that the effectiveness of the training provided by the institution had to be balanced against what is still the limited number of wardens deployed across the mining communities to deal with monitoring and enforcement as well as “the supporting technology” available to the sector.
Asked whether he felt that the Mining School ought to be part of the investigative process in the event of mining accidents Rutherford responded in the affirmative. “If they know that we who do the training will be part of the investigation process in the case of an accident perhaps they will be more mindful.”
Effective environmental oversight in the mining sector continues to be restricted by the delay in bringing into force, draft Codes of Practice for environmental management drafted by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and which have been awaiting ratification since 2010. Applewhite-Hercules said that the approval of the Codes of Practice could clear the way for a more effective understanding of what the monitoring responsibilities are.
The training is being undertaken at various technical institutions across the country including the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) and the Government Technical Institute (GTI) in George-town, Government Technical Institutes at Linden, Upper Corentyne, Mahaicony and Essequibo and the Bartica and Mahdia Mines Stations
