Company announcements

Harmony launches a community skills and development training programme in Matjhabeng

February 16, 2018

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Johannesburg, 16 February 2018: Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (“Harmony”) is proud to announce the inauguration of the Community Skills and Development Training programme in Matjhabeng, Welkom, on 14 February 2018.

The launch follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in Welkom on 20 October 2017 with the Matjhabeng Municipality and the Unemployment Forum of Letjweleputswa District to begin a skills training programme for young people in local communities within the municipality.

Harmony recognises the importance of investing in the communities in which it operates so as to build a new generation of skilled young people for employment opportunities in the mining sector. Over the past 10 years, the company has contributed more than R470 million towards community skills training and development in the form of university entry bridging courses, bursaries and learnership programmes.

Seventy young people from the Matjhabeng and Masilonyana communities began training on entry level skills at Harmony’s Education and Training Centre, in Welkom, on 5 February 2018. The plan is to train 560 young people annually from the local communities.

Trainees will spend about six weeks on theory and another six weeks on practical experience. However, training periods may vary, depending on the area of training.

After completing their training, trainees will be eligible for permanent employment at Harmony’s mines provided vacancies are available. Trainees who are not offered permanent employment will be placed in Harmony’s labour pool date base, and after a period of three months, they will then be free to extend their employment search to other mining companies.

Through this programme, Harmony addresses not only the dearth of core skills in the mining sector but also empowers young people to reach their full potential.

“Harmony continues to be invested in and remains committed to improving the lives of the communities where our operations are based. We recognise the importance of young people being economically-active and this skills development programme is designed to open up career possibilities that would not normally be available to them,” said Peter Steenkamp, CEO of Harmony.

For more details contact:

Sihle Maake
Group Communications Manager
+27(0) 83 722 5467(mobile)
+27(0) 11 411 2312

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Harmony), a world-class gold mining and exploration company, has operations and assets in South Africa and Papua New Guinea. Harmony, which has more than 60 years’ experience in the industry, is the third largest gold producer in South Africa. Our assets include 9 underground mines and 1 open pit operation and several surface sources in South Africa. Our assets in PNG – an open pit mine (Hidden Valley), as well as the significant Golpu project – are held in a joint venture. We also own several exploration tenements, in Papua New Guinea.

The company’s primary stock exchange listing is on the JSE with a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The bulk of our shareholders are in South Africa and the United States. Additional information on the company is available on the corporate website, www.harmony.co.za.