~For Advertorial --- PT Inco: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2008

PT Inco empowers locals through community development programs

People living near natural-resource-based companies, including mining firms, are often hopeful of being able to work at the company to improve their standard of living.

Most companies, however, set high standards for recruitment requirements.

Consequently, many local job seekers remain unemployed due to their lack of skills, competency and knowledge.

Publicly listed PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco), a leading producer of nickel in matte that operates in Sorowako, South Sulawesi, is fully aware that many young people living near its operation site are not ready to work. Therefore, in cooperation with the regional government of East Luwu, Inco has initiated an industrial training program (PPI) for the local community as part of its long-term commitment to empower locals through education and human resources development programs.

The PPI is aimed at preparing locals, in particular working- age people, to be a well-prepared workforce with technical skills and personalities that meet the industrial standards.

At least 140 senior high school graduates from Nuha, Towuti and Malili and other sub-districts close to Sorowako are taking part in the program. The two-year program, which commenced in October 2004, does not only provide training and tutorials on basic and technical knowledge, such as safety, first aid, mining and process plant overview from experienced instructors, but also on mentality and attitude aspects.

Graduates of the program are expected to have honed their technical skills and be mentally prepared for the industrial world they stand on the brink on. Thus, with their improved skills and tougher attitudes, graduates have a greater chance of securing employment.

The PPI is one of many community development (CD) programs run by Inco to coincide with the company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles. The principles require the company to take part in improving the welfare of locals and protecting the environment to ensure the sustainability of its operation.

Inco, which started operation over 37 years ago, has designed and implemented numerous CD programs. In its earlier years of operation, the company's CD program focused on providing funds for the construction of infrastructure, such as roads, an airport and seaport and water and sewage treatment facilities.

However, once the infrastructure and public facilities were in place, PT Inco began to focus its CD programs on education and human-resource development given the importance of skilled residents for the long-term goal of the company. The programs include the provision of scholarships and research funds for students of Hasanuddin University, Makassar under the Cooperative Education Program (Coop). The program, which commenced in 1999, allows students to conduct research on the mining industry, providing an opportunity for them to gain experience and knowledge of the mining industry.

The program has been of great benefit to locals, particularly young people, as more locals are employed at Inco. Dozens of unskilled young people have now become employees with highly developed skills, competency and a sense of discipline that meet international mining standard requirements. To date, around 3,400 people work at Inco, of which about 75 percent are residents living near its operation site.

As most of the residents living near Inco's operation site are farmers, Inco's people empowerment program also focuses on developing local farmers' skills by providing training on how to boost crop production. In addition to training, Inco also provides agricultural equipment, such as hand-tractors, fertilizers and superior seedlings.

Apart from education-related programs, Inco has also conducted health programs in a sustainable manner as improved welfare also means healthy living. The health programs emphasize the accessibility of locals to quality health care because many people living near the operation site cannot afford to pay for health care.

Inco offers free medical examinations and treatment to all Indonesian residents of Sorowako experiencing financial hardships. Others receive a discount of 23 to 75 percent on health care costs.

Under health programs, PT Inco, in cooperation with the health agency of the regional government of East Luwu, has also built a "Puskesmas Plus" -- an extended community health center -- in Sorowako and in the district of Towuti. The "plus" side of these community health centers lies in their extra facilities such as treatment rooms, emergency units, laboratories, drugstores, and the periodic visits of specialists like internists, dentists and pediatricians.

PT Inco also sees conserving local culture and tradition as a significant aspect because the company respects the existing culture and pluralism although it has no direct relationship with business operation. Through culture-related CD programs, the company ensures that its operation does not pose a threat to the existing culture and traditions.

PT Inco, for instance, has provided funds for the conservation of culture representing local ethnic groups, namely Padoe, Karunsie and Tambee. The company also backs local art and cultural activities, such as the Padungku celebration or the harvest festival, bamboo music and publishing local folk tales.

While efforts to reduce the social impact of the company and to empower locals continue, PT Inco is also committed to protecting the environment to ensure that its natural resources can be enjoyed by future generations.

Although its contract of work (COW) will run through 2025, PT Inco has started with its ex-mining land reclamation projects to ensure that land rehabilitation programs run successfully when the company stops operation.

Inco conducts regreening and tree-replanting projects on reclaimed land. The projects have been conducted in cooperation with Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar and the Bioteknology Laboratory of the Bogor Institute of Technology. Of the company's 844.2 hectares of remaining open pit mine, 225.1 hectares have been revegetated through the rehabilitated programs of June, 2005.

Inco signed the contract of work (CoW) with the government in 1968 for 30 years and was extended from 1996 to 2025. The COW covers over 218,000 hectares of land in South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi.

Slowly but surely, many locals living near PT Inco's operation sites have changed their attitudes toward job opportunities thanks to the company's long-term education and people empowerment programs. More locals are aware that having more job opportunities and being self-reliant are better options than relying on Inco in regard to job opportunities.

Thus, with CSR principles materialized in CD programs, Inco has proved that its business operation does not only benefit shareholders and the government but also locals.