MHI is in charge of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) for the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant Rehabilitation Project in Liberia. One of the long-term objectives of the project is to identify staffing needs to operate and maintain the plant, and to hire and train local staff. This initiative has been referred to as the Early Recruitment and Training Program (ERT Program).

As part of the Mount Coffee PIU Project, MHI was actively involved in recruiting and coordinating the training of 21 operations, maintenance, and management staff. The first three months of training has now commenced at the Kafue Gorge Regional Training Centre in Zambia. Further training will be provided by Voith Hydro (the main equipment supplier) in Liberia and in Germany, by the onsite O&M contractor over a multi-year period, and by MHI at a Manitoba Hydro facility.

MHI staff in Manitoba and in Liberia planned and coordinated the ERT Program. Using MHI’s hydropower plant experience, a staffing plan was developed. An MHI human resources specialist assisted with the development of job descriptions and qualification requirements, and with the intense recruitment activities. MHI’s O&M specialists developed the training program outline, and training providers were identified and contracted accordingly. The program is now underway and MHI’s onsite O&M specialist (with assistance from PIU and Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) staff) will oversee the coordination of training activities.

MHI’s onsite O&M specialist will monitor the progress of each trainee, and will make recommendations for program revisions and enhancements. The trainees will assume greater responsibility for the O&M of the plant over the five years that the O&M contractor is onsite. At the end of the five years, the trainees should be in a position to assume full responsibility of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant.