Technicians for Africa Programme, an 18-module free online programme, which spans 3-6 months, is fully sponsored by Caterpillar, the global leader in the manufacture of equipment for the construction, mining, oil and gas industries.

Since its inception six years ago, the Caterpillar/Mantrac partnered initiative has trained a total of 537 people out of which more than 50 are gainfully employed by Mantrac Ghana Limited across its branches in the country. Others are also gainfully employed by other companies.

Mantrac Ghana Limited, in a deliberate attempt to offer opportunities for those who merit employment, has also created a CV Bank for the yet to be employed trained technicians for consideration in the event of any vacancy.

Andrew Sarson, Service Manager at the Takoradi Component Rebuild Centre said at the fifth graduation ceremony that the Technicians for Africa Programme has been a great success so far as a lot of young people have benefited from it.

“Caterpillar recognized shortage of opportunity for grassroots level entry into the profession and collaborated with Mantrac to create the platform for the youth to get trained. It is a good introduction to the industry, and we always encourage young school-leavers and university graduates to take advantage and take the course”, he said.

Ghana, he noted, has opportunities in the mines and construction fields and needed qualified technicians to fill key positions.

Adam Martin, Product Support Manager at Mantrac Ghana Ltd, during an engagement with the participants via video conference, said theirs is a technical business, but opportunities also exist for non-engineers in sales and marketing. He added that having technical knowledge and experience will be an added advantage for jobseekers since it will help them understand the issues and complexities involved in the field.

Abek Larbi-Boakye, Technical Training and Development Coordinator for Mantrac Ghana Ltd., said efforts are being made through engagements with technical universities and institutions to encourage more young Ghanaians to become trained technicians. Mantrac, he revealed, has formed strategic partnership with the Takoradi Technical University to enable Mechanical Engineering students have hands-on training sessions. Caterpillar has also donated an engine to the school to facilitate tuition.

Esther Ntow Kesse, who is currently doing her National Service with Genser Energy, was among the few females that graduated under the Technicians for Africa programme. She narrated how she is able to apply some of the modules to her current job. She advised ladies to have faith in themselves and pursue whatever they seek to do in life.

It is expected that the graduates become worthy ambassadors for the Caterpillar/Mantrac Technicians for Africa programme, encourage others to enroll, get properly trained and become sought-after service technicians for the continent of Africa and the world.

The Technicians for Africa Programme was launched in Ghana in November 2016 and seeks to train highly valued service technicians in the heavy equipment industry for career opportunities.

Though the programme is focused on mechanical engineering students from the technical universities and institutions, other individuals without any technical background but have the desire for career opportunities in that field can also apply.