Tina Hydro PET training reaches a milestone

Attending the Community Benefit Sharing Project (CBSP) Pre-Employment Training (PET) has given 40-year-old Salome Matesaia from Tina Village an opportunity to become employed. 

Mrs. Matesaia is one of the early participants who joined the first PET training in April this year.  

Currently, 152 eligible individuals from the Tina River catchment communities have taken part in this program and have trained to be job-ready for the Project construction phase.  

She described the training as an opportunity to assist people in the community to find ways to earn money for themselves. 

“I am employed, by Hyundai Engineering Co. Limited (HEC) on the Tina River Hydro Project to do housekeeping, ” she said. 

The training, facilitated by local employment and training firm Pasifiki HR, assists participants to understand the setup of the project, the job roles that may become available, and how to learn basic skills to be job-ready.  

 In addition, the training has enabled them to learn about basic health and hygiene practices that can help improve the standard of living as well as learn to develop personal goals, open bank accounts, and manage money. 

From the Project perspective, they have gained an understanding of environmental issues, learned how to handle tools and have a better understanding of workshop safety.  

Justin Blesseth Cheffers from Mataruka village, who attended the first training session, has also successfully gained employment. He is currently working as a Health and Safety Officer with HEC. He says he is excited about the opportunity and is now working with the HEC construction team on Lot one. 

Justin and Mrs. Matesaia are just two of the 152 participants who have already graduated from the six training sessions conducted with a fairly even split of 75 females and 77 males attending.    

Another keen participant, 20-year-old Henry Susa of Malango village in Central Guadalcanal said he was also excited to be involved. Of the many days of training, he said two topics that stood out for him are budgeting and safety rules. 

“As a person who attended such training for the first time, two topics that caught my attention were how to handle tools and now I have a better understanding of workshop safety,” he explained. 

Pasifiki HR Coordinator Tryheana Gilbert co-facilitator of the PET Training said the modules of training are very helpful for improving participants’ confidence in public speaking and also helps them see their strengths and weaknesses when seeking employment. 

“I noticed the PET training has helped participants to understand different areas of the Project, for example, the social and environmental aspects,” she explained. 

Ms. Gilbert also highlighted the training effectively paves the way to make them job-ready for employment during the Project construction phases.  

 With construction now happening on Lot 1 Access Road, several jobs are currently being advertised on the Tina River Hydropower Development website at www.tina-hydro.com  and the Project Facebook page.   

ENDS//