KALUMBILA, ZAMBIA – Local people have graduated with skills in construction and carpentry that will help them gain business in the expanding mining town of Kalumbila.
The training programme organised by FQM Trident is the latest move by the mine to help provide local people with the ability to offer competitive services to the mine and surrounding businesses in the area.
FQM Trident’s support towards bridging the skills gap of local people through such interventions by its Trident Foundation has also drawn praise from government representatives.
Speaking during a graduation ceremony of 30 local residents trained in Construction and Carpentry Skills Development, Kalumbila Council Chairperson Shadrick Munjunga said the support by the mining giant was a step in the right direction as it charts a new chapter in the professional lives of the candidates.
“As government, we are committed to supporting stakeholders such as FQM Trident Limited who have taken a step forward in complementing governments efforts in various sectors such as education, agriculture, health, infrastructure, wildlife, forestry, and technical skills development,” said Mr Munjunga.
The expansion of Zambia’s Constituency Development Fund in the 2022 budget provides an important opportunity to make service delivery more responsive to public needs, strengthen decentralised local institutions, and promote economic development. The New Dawn government aims to tackle youth unemployment through skills training to create a self-employment platform.
“I believe that the acquisition of such skills is one of the main pillars of the development in any economy as it ensures that there is adequate, competent manpower to drive the economy,” added Mr Munjunga.
The council chairperson stressed that Kalumbila Town Council would soon commence the construction of various projects, among them 500 housing units, a shopping mall, a market, a filling station, and a modern bus station in the Central Business District (CBD) under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme and assured the graduates of employment opportunities.
He urged the graduates to transmit the skills acquired to other members of their respective organizations to create a ripple effect.
Meanwhile, FQM Trident General Manager Junior Kaiser said the skills imparted to the graduates were pertinent to a fast-growing town such as Kalumbila and the country at large.
“There is such a huge demand for items such as school desks, over 800 houses, and many developments taking place in the town, hence these skills will really help us as a business and as a country in promoting entrepreneurship,” he said.
Mr Kaiser further implored the graduates not to relent and instead seize opportunities in the fields trained while upholding quality and safety in their service delivery.
And speaking on behalf of the Construction Business Management Training graduates, Womba Mulonga hoped that the skills acquired would enable them to compete with other contractors in the construction industry.
“Going forward, we will improve the delivery of the services that we will be proving to our clients. The quality of our work will now be good and up to standards and this will restore the confidence of our clients,” she said.
The two-month training, which was organised by the Trident Foundation, drew candidates from three local businesses within the catchment area of the mine to upskill them with construction and carpentry skills and enable them to take up major projects at the mine and in other parts of the town.
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