16 AGM employees graduate from UWI Supervisory Programme

Sixteen employees attached to the Canada-based Aurora Gold Mine (AGM) were awarded their Certificate of Achievement after completing training in an Experiential Supervisory Programme done in collaboration with the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The graduation exercise was held on Friday last at Duke Lodge, Duke Street, Georgetown.
The programme consisted of five training sessions in which the participants learned about the different aspects of leadership and supervision.
Training Coordinator of AGM, Michael Baird said that the programme was focused on various aspects that will enhance the students’ performance in the AGM workplace
“The company has invested heavily in ensuring that employees and contractor partners working on-site are exposed to the relevant training activities to ensure that they have the necessary knowledge to do given tasks safely, to benefit of employees and the company”, he remarked.
He said that the initiative to train the company’s staff was conceived from a discussion that highlighted the need to provide their supervisors with the competence needed in their departments.
“It was in the middle of 2017, that I was having a discussion with Mr Peter Benny then the Administrative Manager, when he raised the issue of the need to engage in training initiatives that will provide our front-line supervisors with the skills and competence to properly execute their daily supervisory managerial mandate”, he said.
Nevertheless, he said that there were several topics covered in the programme along with multiple practical group exercises that will help with the students’ improvement.
“Leadership, decision making, planning and coordinating, driving results, people development, teamwork, and interpersonal sensitivity. The experiential nature of the programme allowed the participants to be exposed to multiple practical group exercises that mirrored active on the job decision-making and problem-solving scenarios”, he explained.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Perry Holloway, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Cooperate Affairs of Guyana Goldfield, in his feature address said that this is the second batch of graduands, and they are from departments all across the company.
‘’The graduates today are a part of the second truants for this advanced training, they are senior supervisors from departments all across the company. They offer interaction for managers and supervisors when they are away on their brakes. While all the employees are important, these graduates are the backbone for the company”, he vocalised.
He said that a company can have a lot of material things, but without its employees, it cannot function.
“A company like ours can have gold, buildings, equipment, and many other things, but the strength of a company is ultimately based on its people, and in order for people to realise their fullest potential… they need training in today’s modern world”, he said.
He further added that the programme was custom designed for their unique circumstance at the mine jointly by senior management at AGM and the Arthur Lok Jack School of Business, at the UWI in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Vice President congratulated the batch of students and urged them to keep learning so that they will become excellent performers in the workplace,
The Certificate in the Experiential Supervisory Development Programme ran from October to December 12.