Local resources sector recruit- ment specialist Mecs Africa, a subsidiary of JSE-listed company MICRO-mega Holdings, has long-term plans to establish skills training centres across Africa to empower local workforces on the continent.

Mecs Africa MD Roland Glass told Mining Weekly on the sidelines of the Investing in African Mining Indaba that, while the company had a sufficient number of people on its databases to meet the current labour demand, Mecs foresaw that greater strain would be placed on the continent’s workforce supply as the African mining sector expanded and matured.

“Therefore, we would like to play a constructive role in preventing any possible supply shortfalls in skilled labour,” said Glass.

He highlighted that the estab- lishment of training centres across Africa would not only provide the company with additional skilled job seekers but also uplift local community members by significantly increasing their future employment prospects.

“Most of the 40 000 people on our database are South African and Australian expatriates. However, our Indian partners in Mumbai have become an increasingly important source of labour for the African mining industry in the last three years,” stated Glass.

He added that the Mining Indaba, which Mecs had attended for the last five years, was a “perfect opportunity” for the company to meet with existing customers and gain new clientele, as about 60% of Mecs’ business entailed the provision of human resources for the African mining industry.

At the company’s exhibit, Mecs Africa showcased its existing business offering and emphasised that it had been involved in recruiting people for the African mining industry for more than 30 years.

“Over the years, we have moved into new sectors, but mining remains our largest labour- recruitment focus area,” said Glass.

He further noted that the company had spent a substantial amount of time and thousands of rands in collating its labour database, which involved the extensive screening of candidates to ensure that they met the required industry standards.

Additionally, Glass emphasised that it was crucial for Mecs Africa to find experienced candidates in the African mining industry, as “it is not [advisable] to place people in mines if they have no background in this highly challenging work environ- ment”.

African Endeavours

Since its inception, in 1981, Mecs Africa has recruited thousands of people for mining operations in several Southern African Development Community countries, including Angola, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

Glass believes that these countries will, in the foreseeable future, continue to be the main focus of Mecs Africa’s labour recruitment services, owing to the rapid growth of their mining sectors.

He added that the company expected, in particular, increased demand for its services in West Africa in the next five years, owing to the significant growth that countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Mali, the Republic of Congo and Guinea were experiencing in terms of new mining projects.

Meanwhile, Mecs Africa affiliate company occupational services provider NOSA launched its Samtrac International elearning training course at the Mining Indaba.

NOSA business development manager Paola Dry-Robberts told Mining Weekly that Samtrac International E-Learning was developed to meet the demand for Samtrac training from NOSA’s international client base and to ensure that NOSA con- tinued to invest in the growth and development of the health, safety and environment (HSE) industry.

“One of the unique qualities of Samtrac International E-Learning is that learners are able to select legislation that is applicable to their country and language of choice, while the course content covers critical aspects of HSE management,” said Dry-Robberts.

She emphasised that HSE management is one of the key challenges facing global mining firms in Africa and maintained that NOSA was best positioned to assist in mitigating this risk.

“NOSA’s service offering to the mining industry includes – but is not limited to – safety audits, risk management consulting, HSE training for all industries, mentoring programmes, working-at-height programmes, integrated malaria management and reptile risk training,” said Dry-Robberts, adding that the company had a record of reducing injuries and fatalities at mines.