The candidates will now undertake three modules to prepare them for the Master’s degree which will begin next year in Tete.
The course is the result of an agreement between the Vale Institute of Technology, the Polytechnic School of the University of Sao Paulo and Tete Polytechnic and is budgeted at 100,000 US dollars.
According to Vale, “the one year Master’s degree course will be led by professors from the prestigious University of Sao Paulo and will be held on the premises of ISPT. The course aims to boost the level of competence of the teaching staff at ISPT as well as enhancing the knowledge of Vale’s workforce”.
Vale’s director of human resources, Paula Eller, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to equipping Mozambicans with the necessary skills in the mining sector.
Eller stated that “we are bringing expertise to Mozambique and are empowering teachers so that in coming years more Mozambicans can have access to training”.
According to geologist Rogerio Sendela, the course will maximise expertise because it is linked to the student’s daily activities.
This is the fourth specialist course sponsored by Vale in Mozambique in partnership with local institutions. Vale is also provided training courses in Brazil.
In April a group of 56 Mozambican employees returned to Moatize after completing an eight month course in mechanical equipment maintenance. A further fifty Mozambicans will this month travel to Brazil to follow the same training course.
Eller pointed out that “mining is still a recent activity in Mozambique. While in Brazil, the workers learned from colleagues with solid backgrounds in the field and who have hands-on familiarity with Vale's operational practices, including health and safety. When they return to their country, these Mozambicans will help spread this knowledge, conveying it to an even greater number of workers”.
In addition, Vale is training railway engineers and train drivers. According to Vale, the company invested ten million dollars in education in Mozambique in 2012.
Post published in: Africa News