Accra Brewery receives training grant

Accra Brewery Limited, a subsidiary of SABMiller, has again demonstrated its commitment to employee skills development by sourcing for a grant of GHC 212,000 from the Skills Development Fund (SDF).

The amount will be invested in tailor-made engineering skills training for the company's artisans, technicians and operators involved in the manufacturing of non-alcoholic beverage brands and water.

The Skills Development Fund (SDF) is an initiative of the government of Ghana to support the development of skills in the country by assisting businesses and industries, workers associations and educational institutions that require skills to become more productive and competitive. The project is sponsored by the World Bank and DANIDA.

Accra Brewery is one of the 84 businesses that is benefiting from the project for the first time.Its participation was due to increasing patronage of the company's brands, necessitating improved skills deployment to meet market demands.

Commenting at the signing ceremony, Ebenezer Ato Simpson, Skills Development Fund Manager said, “Accra Brewery Limited had a challenge with maintaining its equipment fleet as well as improvement in skills training. We decided to support them after the company satisfied the criteria for obtaining the grant.”

He pointed out that, “the Fund also supports other institutions that require training for content development as well as approve grants for courses that one cannot get locally but are required to make their businesses grow.”

The Human Resources Director of ABL, Akature Ania, expressed his profound gratitude to SDF, adding,the grant was timely considering it came at a period when the company's resources were overstretched.

“Investing in our skills development is a function that cannot be compromised. We are partnering with AngloGold Ashanti Engineering Training Centre to train our artisans, technicians and operators which we believe will enable us enhance productivity and profitability.” he remarked.

Emphasizing the importance of the fund to the company, Managing Director of Accra Brewery Limited, Greg Metcalf, said “Skills development is key to our business in the competitive market place within which we are operating; this fund is therefore an opportune add-on to the growth of our business”.