Mongolia’s world-class mining company, Oyu Tolgoi, considers training of its future workforce a priority and a mission. To demonstrate this commitment, the company has established many vocational training centers throughout Mongolia. Hundreds of young Mongolians, inspired to work at Oyu Tolgoi, are studying in these vocational centers.
Some of them are studying at the School of Technology, named after Sh.Otgonbileg, in Orkhon province. There they are gaining theoretical knowledge and doing their practical experience at Erdenet, the state-owned mine operating in the province. To practice and apply the theory gained from classroom training in the nearby mine of Erdenet is a rare opportunity being provided by Oyu Tolgoi LLC to the youth of Mongolia. One hundred and twenty eight young people from the provices of Dornod, Arkhangai, Darkhan-Uul, Umnugobi, Bulgan, Dornogobi, Selenge, Uvurkhangai and Orkhon, and from the national capital, Ulaanbaatar, are studying at the school of technology to become welders, electricians, mechanics and lathe operators. Ranging in age from 25-42, the students are at a prime time in their lives to create and learn. The students share the common goal and dream – to graduate successfully and work at Oyu Tolgoi LLC. The opportunity to work in a world class company and take part in the largest development work of Mongolia in the 21st century is a fate that befalls not everybody.
During the four years of study at the school of technology, Oyu Tolgoi LLC fully covers school tuition, accommodation and textbooks for the students and they are also paid a monthly allowance. Oyu Tolgoi LLC also pay for the round trip expenses for students studying from other provinces and cities, so they can visit their homes twice a year. The students financed by Oyu Tolgoi are well looked after. The mine even provides them with work clothes, including three pair of pants, shirts, coveralls, sweaters, boots, safety goggles and gloves. More than 60 per cent of the students live in the dormitory accommodation at the School of Technology. The dormitory is close to the school. It is very warm and comfortable – there are kitchen facilities, hot water and internet. However, the dormitory regulations are strict. The students can’t go outside after 11pm, they are expected to attend all classes and they are not allowed to smoke or drink alcohol inside the dormitory. Because of such strict regulations, the school dormitory was selected as the best dormitory in the country in 2011. The students living in the dormitory said they stay busy as there are many facilities and events to fill up their free time – a swimming pool at the Khangarid sports club, a fitness club, English language courses, a basketball competition, a safety contest and the snow festivals.
The students study theory in the classroom and then gain practical experience with training simulators, for excavators and bulldozers, in the lab. Some of the students go to the Erdenet mine to the mechanical plant, the concentrator and the stockpile for practical training.
Teachers at the school ensure that the students gain the latest scientific and practical knowledge and skills. P.Tsogtbayar, teacher of mechanics, has written a manual 'the basis of plumbing' for the students. G.Chinbaatar, a welding teacher, worked at the Erdenet mine for almost 30 years and then became teacher at the school. He has been teaching for four years and is writing a book on “welding and cutting technology,” which will soon be released to the students. T.Batsuuri, lathe practical teacher, worked at the Erdenet mine for 18 years and at the South Korean 'Samsung' corporation for six years.
L.Bataa, vice-director of the School of Technology, responsible for vocational training and registered engineer of Mongolia PhD, is very positive about the Oyu Tolgoi contract students. He studied in the former Soviet Union in the city of Leningrad (now St.Petersburg) as a concentration engineer and worked for 30 years at the Erdenet mine. He says, “the mining sector is developing very rapidly. The need for training of qualified professionals to work in the mines has emerged. The contract students can work at the Mongolian world-class mining company Oyu Tolgoi and can do practical training in the Erdenet mine, accumulating vast experience. It has been three years since we signed the agreement with Oyu Tolgoi LLC, to train their workforce. During this period we have trained about 200 technical specialists. Our cooperation with Oyu Tolgoi has brought much progress to our training. We are learning the best practices from Australia, Canada and the USA and improving the quality of our training. We are also studying international training systems and working on adapting them for our conditions. The majority of our teachers are experienced people who have worked in mines for many years. First of all, we need to train our teachers. With the help of Oyu Tolgoi we have invited trainers and specialists from the ETAS group of Australia to conduct training for our teachers. This programme is proving very useful for our teachers. The graduating students will be qualified not only to work at Oyu Tolgoi, but at any other Mongolian or international company. Oyu Tolgoi LLC management pays close attention to improving the learning and living condition of the students. Our school is very proud of our cooperation with Oyu Tolgoi LLC which is conducting the largest development work of the century.”
One of the students, B.Banzragch, comes from Uvurkhangai aimag and is 42 years old. He worked as driver for many years. He has three children, the eldest is in grade 10 in secondary school and youngest is eight months old.
E.Tsendzesem, resident of Orkhon province and a graduate of engineering-physics class of Mongolian University of Science and Technology, is studying here to become an electrician. She is one of a handful of female students who study here and is already recognised as one of best students. She says, “soon, I will marry my boyfriend. He is also studying, majoring in the mining area. We both hope to work at Oyu Tolgoi and start our life there.”
G.Ganjiguur is head of the electrical group of students. Previously, he worked at the police department of Dornog province for seven years. His wife is a kindergarten teacher and lives in their home province with their two children. During the Lunar New Year, he visited his family for two weeks vacation.
Ch.Gantulga, from Ulaanbaatar, previously worked for the iron ore mining company “Altain Khuder”. Recently, his wife gave birth to a daughter. He says, “I think I made the right choice selecting the lathe operator course. We have every opportunity to excel at our studies. I want to work at Oyu Tolgoi in my professional field.”
N.Gankhuu, father of three children is 39 years old. Previously, he worked as a welder at the Erdenet mine for five years. Then he worked in South Korea for eight years in his professional field. He says, “fourteen of the 19 students in the welding class have worked as welders before and have professional grades. There are four welding cabinets in the school.”
P.Altanzul is a resident of Erdenet and head of the electrical group of students. He says, “I met all the criteria for the Oyu Tolgoi sponsored study and got the opportunity to study here. All the conditions to study here are very good. Oyu Tolgoi LLC provides all the financing related to our study here. On top of that, we all receive a monthly allowance. We study theory for eight hours a day and then in the evening we do practical study in the laboratory classes. After the theory class, we do practical training at the Erdenet concentrator for 30-45 days. Recently, we spent one month there for practical training. Practical training is very useful.”
B.Bars, comes from the Uvurkhangai province. He says, “we study individual communication skills, English language, ecology and business skills; in addition to our professional classes such as repair and maintenance of equipment, basics of mechanical equipment, electrical repair work, repair of moving equipment and materials study. Four of us live together in one room in the dormitory. I worked in South Korea for several years and was involved in a project implemented by Oyu Tolgoi for two years and now I am studying here with the Oyu Tolgoi sponsorship.
D.Oyuntsetseg, who studied at vocational school and technical university, has more than 30 years experience working at the Erdenet mine. She was the first registered electrical engineer to come from this concentrator plant. She has been teaching electrical classes at the technological university for 18 years and takes great effort to pass her knowledge and skills onto her students. Last year, she was honored as ‘best teacher of the year’. During the last two years, she has trained about 30 electricians, most of them are now working at Oyu Tolgoi. D.Oyuntsetseg proudly says, “last year Oyu Tolgoi LLC set up a very nice electricial lab at the school. We are very excited and happy about this. Now our school is No.1 in Mongolia for training provisions and environment.” Recently, she toured the Oyu tolgoi site for a week, visiting the openpit and underground mines. She was able to see her former students working there. She praised Oyu Tolgoi and said: “It is a great mine, fully equipped with the latest equipment and machinery.”
Ch.Altansuvd is the teacher responsible for the Oyu Tolgoi students. He is the closest person to these 128 students, ‘Daddy’ to a very large family. He is a former military communications specialist and colonel. He served in the military service for 33 years. Altansvud says, “our school is unique because of the variety of age groups and backgrounds of the people who study here. Our students include university graduates and people with the experience of working abroad in Japan or Korea. We even have a 4th grade welder with six years work experience and someone with 7 years of police service. Oyu Tolgoi’s selection of its students was very good. Their supply and provision is also very good. Teachers at the school of technology are engineering-technical specialists with many years of experience at the Erdenet mine. The classrooms are very nice and fully equipped with training equipment, machinery and labs. The lathe classroom is equipped with a knife sharpener, grinder and drill mill. The students are inspired to study well and work at Oyu Tolgoi, so they excel in their studies.”
D.Enkhbaatar, training superintendent at Oyu Tolgoi says, “when Oyu Tolgoi is in in full operational phase it will employ 3,300 professional workers. According to the investment agreement, 90 per cent of them will be Mongolian nationals. We are training them now through Mongolian vocational training institutions. We aim to introduce the Australian vocational educational system to Mongolia. Why Australia? Because Australia has a highly developed mining sector and uses advanced equipment and technology. We have partnered with the Australian ETAS group to organise special courses for teachers who teach the contract students. Currently, Alice Jones, learning development facilitator of ETAS group, is here teaching the course. As result of this training course, the Mongolian teachers will obtain the qualifications to teach in vocational educational centers, according to international standards or 4th grade certificates. Some people say four years is too long to train professional workers and they ask, “are you training university-educated workers?” Our training is not diploma training. In Australia it is standard for professional workers to train for four to six years. The essence here is not about university education, but about the training of qualified specialists that fully meets international standards. The training does not necessarily have to be for four years, it can be three. This is practice-dominated training, 20-30 per cent of all training hours are theory lessons and 70-80 per cent are practice. We have supplied 750 thousand dollars or 1 billion tugrug worth of training equipment to the school of technology. We have already trained about 300 graduates, many of them are now working at Oyu Tolgoi. When students graduate from the course and meet the criteria, they will receive an internationally recognised certificate and will be qualified to work not only at Oyu Tolgoi, but also at any mine around the world. We have contracts with our students and the requirements of the contract are very simple – study well, improve your skills and knowledge and become a specialist who meets the Oyu Tolgoi requirements. That is it.”
A competition named “Competency” for the contract students of Oyu Tolgoi was organised among the students. After 30 June, the applicants will be assessed on their improved learning capacity, teamwork, professional competency improvement, inter-personal communication skills, work safety and health requirements. In addition to their study, the contract students organised a charitable campaign, “Support of a Heart” for the local area. They visited the orphanage center “Enerel” and the school for disabled children. They also donated flour, rice, vegetable oil, sugar and cash to single parent households with many children. This generosity was received very warmly by the public. The contract students – the future technical workers of Oyu Tolgoi, are living and studying hard in Erdenet.
B.Batbileg
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