Ambatovy is committed to maximizing national employment and developing a highly skilled local
workforce. Thousands of Malagasy employees have received construction, technical, and administrative
training. Investing in such programs ensures that Malagasy workers and managers will be able to assume
positions of progressively increasing responsibility during the Operations phase.
Ambatovy’s Training Department has taken a hybrid approach that combines self-taught training,
computer-based learning, and traditional instructor-led classes. Through this approach, employees can
continually develop skills on the job, allowing for significant professional growth.
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Specialized training for Operations and Maintenance:
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The Ambatovy Training Center was inaugurated in Toamasina in 2010. The Center has a large, fully equipped
workshop for both Operations and Maintenance training. All operators are instructed by highly skilled
Malagasy engineers, who were previously trained by Ambatovy’s expatriate technicians. Maintenance subjects
are taught by technical experts from Canada. These courses help transfer skilled trades to the local workforce,
endowing employees with the necessary knowhow to become electricians, millwrights, pipefitters, welders,
instrument technicians, boilermakers and planners. Courses consist of six to eight months of technical
training, followed by additional courses related to health and safety practices, language skills, information
technology (IT), and on-the-job learning.
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Training facilities and programs:
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The Training Department has a team of 35 professionals comprised of trainers, sector-training coordinators,
and training advisors.
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Ambatovy provides employees with the opportunity to further develop their knowledge and skills through
extra-curricular courses such as language training, IT classes, customer-service training, etc. Many personnel
have already received planning training, which will help them step into management roles in the future.
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In early 2011, Ambatovy launched its Technical Excellence Program, a training initiative aimed at young adults
from the Toamasina area. The course consists of 18 months training and a two-month internship. It was
created for graduates, aged 17 to 22, from technical colleges in the region of Antsinanana. At the end of the
course, graduates are expected to gradually replace foreign workers. A similar initiative is under development
in the Moramanga area. Between 2011 and 2015, Ambatovy plans to train 219 operators for work at the
Plant Site.
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Health and Safety (H&S) training:
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Employees are required to complete general training on the following subjects: H&S, first aid, environmental
rules and regulations, labeling of hazardous material, safety documentation, and firefighting. Seventy percent
of Operations personnel had completed all H&S modules by the end of 2010. When appropriate, community
members also receive H&S training.
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Ambatovy recently implemented an environmental policy governing industrial H&S. Ambatovy is committed to
working towards Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 certification for its safety
management system. OHSAS 18001 is the highest international standard for occupational H&S – Ambatovy
aims to have this standard in place in 2011.
Building Skills and Training Professionals
Future Plans
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Develop capacity-building initiatives that provide vocational skills
training to technical college teachers in Moramanga and Toamasina.
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Collaborate with technical institutes in Moramanga and Toamasina
to offer short-term internships for students.
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Construct an H&S simulator that will provide employees with the
appropriate facilities for comprehensive H&S training across several
work-related dimensions: confined spaces, working at heights,
rescue, and “lockout tag out.”
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AMBATOVY – SUPPORTING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
