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Chinese "Masters" and "Foreign Apprentices"

Release time:2019-12-23 Article source: Reading times: A+AA-

The Thar Coalfield Block II Open-Pit Brown Coal Mine Project in Sindh, Pakistan is the first large open-pit coal mine project in Pakistan. CMEC has undertaken the design, construction and equipment purchase of the project as an EPC general contractor. CMEC staff, employees of subcontractors and local personnel are gathered here to work for the project. With mutual cooperation, mutual learning and mutual growth, they have established a profound friendship during work.

"I kept participating in the PEC examination after graduation, but I failed every time. Through the "apprenticeship" program, I have learned a lot of theoretical knowledge and my learning outcomes can be tested in practice. Now I have obtained the PEC certificate", said Waheed Chachar, a Pakistani personnel of the Thar Open-Pit Coal Mine Project.

Waheed Chachar's master Wei Bo is the head of surveying team for the Thar Coal Mine Project. He teaches Waheed Chachar on a one-to-one basis. They have got on with each other for nearly a year. They work in the pit with surveying instruments every morning and make drawings before the computer late at night.

Wei Bo is a rigorous master, and Waheed Chachar is a careful apprentice. Though they don't speak the same language, they can cooperate very well. They can understand each other through a gesture or a movement. They have learned the language from each other in their spare time. Now, Wei Bo can speak English fluently, and Waheed Chachar can express himself with simple Chinese words. Wei Bo often joked that "Waheed Chachar is not only my apprentice, but also my instructor".

The welding engineer Cao Jiaying in the Equipment Department of CMEC leads a team of 8 Pakistani welders. They are equivalent to his foreign apprentices. "At the beginning, they basic welding and repair skills were very poor. I had to teach them step by step. Because of the language barrier, I had to demonstrate it over and over again, until they learned it. Now they are all highly skilled in welding and repair."

His "foreign apprentices" all call him "Master Cao" kindly. Though they don't speak the same language, they can joke around. The pleasant working atmosphere makes the hard welding and repair work easy.

"Master Cao" is almost 60 years old. He has decades of experience in welding and repair, and have taught a large number of excellent apprentices in China. But he is particularly proud of these "foreign apprentices". He said, "We have carried forward China's technology at abroad!"

The "master-apprentice" combination can be seen everywhere in the Thar project. Almost every Pakistani employee has a Chinese "master" who helps them to grow up fast.

Snce its start in 2016, CMEC's Thar Coal Mine and Power Plant Project has adhered to the principle of "people foremost, repaying society", cooperated with local government and owners fully, made public recruitment conditions, provided an environment for learning, helped and supported local disadvantaged groups, offered a large number of job opportunities for local people, driven local economic development fundamentally, won high praise from local government and local people and built the brand reputation for the corporation.

The Thar Coal Mine Project has hired a large number of Pakistani labor workers. The Equipment Department, Surveying Department, HR Department and other departments have recruited a lot of Pakistani managers to assume management positions. Advocated by CMEC's site leaders Wang Qingzhu and Liu Zhiming, professional trainers have been dispatched to prepare training courses and select experienced employees for "one-to-one" instruction, so that Pakistani managers can master professional skills quickly. Meanwhile, the mining truck driver training base has been established for the project. After constant exploration and improvement of training content and methods, the "28-day" driver training program has been launched to provide excellent technical talents for mine construction.

The "apprenticeship" program can help Pakistani employees increase their technical level quickly and make them able to work independently as soon as possible. Especially, with the rapid development of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the masters and apprentices have established a special connection, strengthening and deepening the friendship between China and Pakistan.