Mining sector training courses help to ensure increased safety, efficiency and productivity in the mining environment, and mining sector specialist training solutions company Prisma aims to launch itself in the Namibian mining industry this year, says Prisma MD Jacques Farmer.

Given the industry’s priorities of increased productivity and efficiency, Farmer notes that Prisma’s courses are “customised to incorporate the mine’s operational standards and procedures, ensuring that a competent workforce becomes a safe, efficient and productive workforce”.

The programmes are focused on two important pillars: return on investment (RoI) for the client and a return on equity for the learners attending the courses.

“They are also beneficial for the individual development of employees, enabling employers to see an RoI in terms of compliance to the Ministerial regulations, alongside a self-sustainable mining operation.”

With a variety of courses available, Prisma’s growth strategy for 2022 and 2023 is to find an anchor client in Namibia and establish a footprint in its mining industry.

Prisma aims to achieve this goal by providing a range of key training services for the mining sector in Namibia. These include opencast and underground mining career-path development, compliance training, safety, health and environmental training, mining community development programmes, as well as training in metallurgy technical skills.

“I believe mining and metallurgy skills are needed within the growing mining economy of Namibia, with a focus on community development skills and upliftment interventions, and benchmarking with best practice within operations,” Farmer says.

While Prisma’s training interventions are linked to the South African Mining Qualification Authority (MQA), it intends to work much closer with the Namibian Qualification Authority (NQA) to bridge the gap between the standards of the NQA and those of South Africa’s MQA.

This will ensure that Prisma’s training programmes are aligned and accepted by the NQA, and that the regulator’s and the company’s goals are met, concludes Farmer.