At Anglo American in Chile, we’re firm believers in a solid education.

Why? Because we believe our future is built – not on rocks – but on the education of our workforce.

In 2004, when we found out that many young high school graduates in the Los Bronces area were dropping out of higher education – unable to continue their studies due to financial and family difficulties – we set about finding a solution.

By supporting the local technical colleges, we’ve improved facilities and training courses in several Chilean towns, making education a feasible – and attractive – choice for young people.

At Til Til, we refurbished the college laboratory, giving Technical Metallurgy students the chance to witness different mining scenarios first-hand, and in Colina those studying to be electricians now learn in a state of the art workshop with a new gym and library.

To date, we’ve benefitted over 400 students and helped them become qualified in areas such as metallurgy, electricity and mechanics.

But the support doesn’t just help the students: it generates invaluable qualified technical manpower for us – something we couldn’t function without.

It also has a positive effect on the wider community – generating work and income where historically there has been a lack. We’re committed to growing with the communities we’re surrounded by: in our experience, education is the cornerstone of this positive growth.

We’re so committed, in fact that last year of the $82.5 million spent on social projects globally, nearly a fifth went on education.

The results? A gold star on our record; and a bright future for these young people.