Zoomlion Trains 51 Women In Heavy Duty Truck Driving

A total of 51 female beneficiaries of the Youth Employment programme have received training in driving heavy-duty trucks under its Zoom Captains programme of Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

They undertook a 15-week training which was crowned in a closing ceremony on Friday, September 10, 2021, at the Armed Forces Supplies and Transport Training School (FATS), Burma Camp in Accra.
 
The Zoom Captains Concept was launched on July 16, 2008,when25 Female Youth  Employment beneficiaries were trained in the operation of various categories of Heavy-duty/ Earth Moving Equipment ( Excavators, graders, vibratory rollers, payloaders and thrash compactors).

It is the objective of the company to also build a work environment that encourages and promotes affirmative action in less popular feminine job roles that the Zoom Captains program was extended to mainstream commercial driving.

Closing the ceremony, the Commanding Officer of the FATS, Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Gyamerah Amoako, charged the participants to put into practice the knowledge and skill they have acquired as well as the discipline they experienced. He expressed the school’s appreciation to the Jospong Group of Companies for making them a part of their training programme.

“And it is also my hope that when you get out there, you will be given the opportunity to handle and operate these vehicles because you have all the competencies to do so,” he said.

However, he recommended that the new female heavy-duty truck drivers should be attached to the company’s male heavy duty trucks’ drivers to further build their confidence and sharpen their competencies and enable the new drivers to be conversant with the operations of the heavy-duty vehicles.

According to Lt. Col. Franklyn Gyamerah Amoako, the ladies have acquired competencies in driving various tonnage capacities of trucks, “I must say these were ladies who had no knowledge at all in driving, and within the time frame, were able to be transformed from ground zero to heavy-duty drivers,” he disclosed.      

With the help of instructors, he said, the trainees were taught from scratch how to move a vehicle from rest, changing of gears, steering control, road signs, road manners and ethics among several topics and skills. He explained that this was because apart from the weight of the vehicle, participants had to be introduced to the hydraulics systems, which are a major feature of heavy-duty trucks.

Earlier this year, one hundred Drivers and two hundred Janitors were trained and passed out successfully in this same school including ladies.

"Additionally, our management team participated in the Senior Executive Leadership training courses as well. This is to enable us to build a formidable, resilient and disciplined team of employees who deliver efficient services with Military precision."

Alex Donkoh