A second response, particularly appropriate for firms operating in remote areas, is to
“build” their workforces. As an example, consider mining-industry leader Anglo American
PLC. When it moved to a remote area of Brazil to mine iron ore, it chose to create a
mining-specific training academy to train its entire workforce. It renovated a crumbling
grade school and filled the classrooms with control panels resembling those on its equip-
ment, along with scale models of the mine. With an initial investment of $1.5 million, it
has already graduated 151 students, mostly in their 20s, and plans to train more than 500
local people over the next 3 years. Twenty-two percent of the workers being trained are
women, compared with 10% at mining firms globally. This is due, in part, to a monthly
child-care allowance for mothers. Students learn everything from welding parts and
changing light bulbs to repairing diesel engines and operating iron-ore conveyor belts.