Social Responsibility - US AID

Global Alumina has committed to training and hiring a local workforce that will peak at 10,000 during construction of the refinery and result in approximately 1,500 employees when the refinery is in operation.

Critical to this goal is to equip Guineans with technical skills including carpentry, welding, electrical work and pipe fitting. In July 2007, Guinea Alumina, the United States Agency for International Development and the Guinea Ministry of Education signed an agreement to jointly fund a $2.5 million training program to upgrade the skills of more than 650 Guinean workers.  The training program is part of Guinea Alumina’s commitment to maximize utilization of Guinean labor, also a top priority of USAID’s poverty alleviation policies. The first graduates of the training program are expected in February 2008.

The partnership between Guinea Alumina Corporation, USAID and the Guinea Ministry of Education represents the first public/private partnership between USAID and the mining industry in Guinea.  The $2 million USAID/Government of Guinea contribution to the program is consistent with the Government of Guinea’s intensified job creation strategy.

This training program is the first element of a multi-faceted training initiative that the joint venture and Global Alumina will undertake to meet the needs of the project and facilitate skills transfer to the Guinean workforce.