~For Advertorial --- PT Inco: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2008<\/p>\n
Suggested titles:<\/p>\n
PT Inco adheres to CSR principles to benefit locals
\nPT Inco empowers locals through community development programs<\/p>\n
Communities living near natural resource-based companies,
\nincluding mining firms, have high expectation of being able to
\nwork at the company to improve their standard of living.<\/p>\n
Most companies, however, set high standard recruitment
\nrequirement to ensure that they have a good and sound performance
\namidst the increasingly competitive industrial era.<\/p>\n
Consequently, many local job seekers fail to work and remain
\nunemployed due to their lack of skills, competency and knowledge.<\/p>\n
Publicly listed PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco), a
\nleading producer of nickel in matte that operates in Sorowako,
\nSouth Sulawesi, is fully aware that many young people living near
\nits operation site are not ready to work. Therefore, in
\ncooperation with the Regional Government of East Luwu initiates
\nan industrial training program (PPI) for local community as part
\nof its long-term commitment to empower locals through education
\nand human resources development programs.<\/p>\n
The PPI is aimed at preparing locals, in particular working-
\nage people, to be well-prepared workforce with technical skills
\nand personalities that meet the industrial standard.<\/p>\n
At least 140 senior high school graduates from Nuha, Towuti
\nand Malili and other sub-districts close to Sorowako take part in
\nthe program. The two-year-long program commenced in October, 2004
\ndoes not only provide trainings and tutorial on basic technical
\nand technical knowledge such as safety, first aids, mining and
\nprocess plant overview from experienced instructors, but also on
\nmentality and attitude aspects.<\/p>\n
Participants graduated from the program are expected to have
\nhigh level of technical skills and also mentality readiness to
\nface industrial worlds they will enter. Thus, with the improved
\nquality and skills, the graduates will have a wider opportunity
\nto get a job.<\/p>\n
The PPI represents one of the many community development (CD)
\nprograms run by PT Inco to coincide with the company's corporate
\nsocial responsibility (CSR) principles. The principles require
\nthe company to take part in improving the welfare of locals and
\nprotecting environment to ensure the sustainability of its
\noperation.<\/p>\n
PT Inco, which started operation over 37 years ago, has
\ndesigned and implemented numerous CD programs. In earlier years
\nof operation, the company's CD program focused on providing funds
\nfor the construction of infrastructure, such as roads, an airport
\nand seaport and water and sewage treatment facilities.<\/p>\n
However, when the infrastructure and public facilities are in
\nplace, PT Inco began to focus its CD programs on education and
\nhuman-resource development given the importance of skilled
\nresidents for the long-term goal of the company. The programs
\ninclude the provision of scholarships and research funds for
\nstudents of Hasanuddin University, Makassar under the Cooperative
\nEducation Program (Coop). The program commenced in 1999 allows
\nstudents to conduct researches on the mining industry, providing
\nan opportunity for them to gain experience and knowledge about
\nmining industry.<\/p>\n
The people empowerment program has benefited locals,
\nespecially young people, as more locals are employed at PT Inco.
\nDozens of unskilled young people have now turned into employees
\nwith high skill, competency and high sense of discipline that
\nmeet international mining standard requirements. To date, as many
\nas 3,400 people work at PT Inco, of which about 75 percent are
\nresidents living near its operation site.<\/p>\n
As most of the residents living near Inco's operation sites
\nare farmers, Inco's people empowerment program also focuses on
\ndeveloping local farmers' skill by providing trainings on how to
\nboost crop production. In addition to trainings, PT Inco also
\ngives agricultural equipments, such as hand-tractors, fertilizer,
\nand superior seedlings.<\/p>\n
Apart from education-related programs, PT Inco has also
\nconducted health programs in a sustainable manner as the welfare
\nalso means living healthily. The health programs emphasize the
\naccessibility of locals to quality health because many natives
\nliving near the operation site cannot afford medical costs.<\/p>\n
To help natives have an access to quality health, PT inco
\nprovides free medical examinations and treatment to all natives
\nof Sorowako with financial constraint. Others receive discounts
\nof 23 to 75 percent on health care costs.<\/p>\n
Under health programs, PT Inco, in cooperation with the health
\nagency of the regional government of East Luwu, has also built a
\n\"Puskesmas Plus\" (an extended community health center) in
\nSorowako and in the District of Towuti. The \"plus\" point of these
\ncommunity health centers lies in their extra facilities such as
\ntreatment rooms, emergency units, laboratories, drugstores, and
\nthe periodic visits of specialists like internists, dentists and
\npediatricians.<\/p>\n
PT Inco also sees conserving local culture and tradition as a
\nsignificant aspect because the company highly respects the
\nexisting culture and pluralism although it has no direct
\nrelationship with business operation. Through culture-related CD
\nprograms, the company ensures that its operation does not pose
\ndamage to the existing culture and tradition.<\/p>\n
PT Inco, for instance, has provided funds for the conservation
\nof the Pasitabe culture. The company is also in support of local
\nart and cultural activities, such as the Padungku celebration or
\nthe harvest festival, bamboo music and publishing local
\nfolklores.<\/p>\n
While efforts to reduce the social impact of the company and
\nto empower locals continue, PT Inco is also committed to
\nprotecting the environment to ensure that the natural resource
\ncan also be enjoyed by the future generation.<\/p>\n
Although its contract of work (CoW) will run through 2025, PT
\nInco has started with its ex-mining land reclamation projects to
\nensure that land rehabilitation programs run successfully when
\nthe company stops operation.<\/p>\n
Starting 2003, PT Inco reclaims the impacted land when the
\ncompany undertakes a mining activity. The moves have been taken
\nfollowing the company's years of researches on land
\nrehabilitation.<\/p>\n
Besides, PT Inco also conducts re-greening and original tree-
\nreplanting projects on reclaimed land whose structure has been
\nreturned to its original one to enhance the quality of land. The
\nprojects have been conducted in cooperation with Universitas
\nHasanuddin, Makassar and Zbioteknologi Laboratory of the Bogor's
\nInstitute of Technology. At least 200 hectares of impacted land
\nhas been revegetated through the rehabilitated programs.<\/p>\n
PT Inco was CoW from the government in 1968 for 30 years and
\nextended from 1996 to 2025. The CoW covers over 218,000 hectares
\nof land in South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and Southeast
\nSulawesi.<\/p>\n
Slowly but surely, many locals living near PT Inco's operation
\nsites have changed their mental attitudes toward job
\nopportunities thanks to the company's long-term education and
\npeople empowerment programs. More locals are aware that having
\nmore job opportunities and being self-reliant are better rather
\nthan relying on PT Inco in regard to job opportunity.<\/p>\n
Thus, with CSR principles materialized in CD programs, PT Inco
\nhas proved that its business operation does not only benefit
\nshareholders and the government but also locals.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/for-advertorial-pt-inco-sunday-sept-4-2008-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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