Recognizing the importance of education for the development of local communities, Freeport-McMoRan has consistently invested in educational programs at its PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) operations. The Papuan Affairs Department was established in 2008 as part of PTFI’s commitment to build the capacity of Papuan employees, to support their career development and to help more Papuans become PTFI employees.
Since 2013, PTFI has supported a one-month training program for high-potential Papuan employees at Freeport-McMoRan’s headquarters in Phoenix to improve their English language skills, to provide them with leadership training and to allow them to gain an overview of the company’s global operations. Twenty-four Papuan employees participated in the program in 2013.
In 2003, PTFI established the Nemangkawi Mining Institute. Since its inception, several thousand individuals have participated in the institute’s pre-apprentice, apprenticeship and adult education programs, providing world-class education, competency training and employment priority to qualified indigenous Papuans. Enrolment priority is weighted towards individuals from the Amungme and Kamoro communities who reside within and in proximity to the PTFI Project Area. Graduates of the Nemangkawi Mining Institute are not bound to employment with PTFI and are free to accept employment elsewhere.
Since the institute’s opening, more than 3,800 apprentices have been trained, and 2,353 have been hired as permanent employees of PTFI or partner companies.
While Nemangkawi’s initial mission was solely to focus on building industrial and technical skills for the local workforce, the institute now additionally addresses the need for advanced professional development. In partnership with PTFI and the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology, Nemangkawi has been offering a Master of Business Administration degree program since 2007, with classes designed around participants’ work schedules. The first 41 graduates of the program received diplomas in 2009. Through its Papuan Bridge Program, Nemangkawi has also provided intensive work readiness training to Papuan university graduates in order to successfully transition them from student life to professional work environments since 2012. Training covers areas such as leadership, computer skills, public speaking and interview skills.