Mining contractor and engineering firm Redpath South Africa completed the construction of a Mining Qualifications Authority- (MQA-) accredited training centre in August at its head office in Johannesburg.

Redpath Mining South Africa safety, health, environment, quality and training (SHEQT) GM Johan Jansen van Vuuren says the company plans to officially start with theoretical and practical training at the centre by the end of this year through skills programmes, study assistance and safe working-procedures training for its employees.

“The facility, which was initially certified as compliant by the MQA in August 2010, provides mandatory in-house induction training and safe working-procedures training for all employees. There are also MQA-accredited skills programmes for selected occupations, such as blasting assistant training; Competent A training, which involves workplace-safe declaration; and Competent B training, which involves semiskilled underground workers.”

Jansen van Vuuren highlights that the training facility will be an invaluable means of simulating real-life situations because it enables trainees to apply the skills that they have learnt in a safe, yet practical and realistic, environ- ment.

“This is important in ensuring that trainees are aware of and fully prepared for any poten- tial workplace hazard that they may encounter on site.”

Redpath South Africa will also offer learnerships to learner mines and learner artisans, as well as study assistance to various job-specific correspondence studies and job-specific training, such as computer literacy courses and first aid training.

The learnership process involves a formal application process, with a committee selecting the ideal candidate for the relevant training.

Jansen van Vuuren points out that Redpath South Africa plans to establish a purpose-built training centre at its Zambian project.

“Safety is of the utmost importance to Redpath South Africa and by imparting our safety knowledge and best practices in Zambia, we can make a measurable difference to the local workforce in terms of their overall safety and wellbeing, in addition to providing them with sustainable skills for the future.”

Testimony to the company’s commitment to safety in the workplace is the 230 lost-time injury- free days recorded over eight months and 470 fatality-free days recorded over 16 months recently.

Initiatives, like the visible safety leadership programme, which encourages senior man- agement and project workers to engage with one another on every safety concern, and the Fatality Prevention Programme, aimed at enhancing existing safety systems through universal compliance with the Redpath group’s Ten Cardinal Rules and Fatal Risk Elimination Protocols, are major drivers behind worker safety.