Women entering industrial workforce lauded for ‘thinking outside the box’

Some 170 persons living at Region Six, successfully graduated from Board of Industrial Training (BIT) programmes last week.

With 24 women apart of this cohort, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton lauded them for dismantling stereotypes to earn and gain employment outside of the traditional sectors.

During the graduation ceremony on Friday last at Outback Adventures, those graduating received their certificates in Motor Vehicle Servicing and Repairs, Heavy-Duty Equipment Operation, Welding and Fabrication, Electrical Installation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Repairs, Furniture making, and Hydraulics.

Each programme is relative to the heavy-duty technical industry and the minister said the female participation signifies a shift in disciplinarians that women submit to.

“You are thinking outside the box, you are going beyond where women are comfortable but it doesn’t end there, it doesn’t end after you collect your certificate,” the Labour Minister said.

The minister also urged the participants to take their certificates and make use of them by entering the respective fields for employment.

This year the Board of Industrial Training is expending some $31 million to improve the skillsets of individuals. This massive investment is to resolve the country’s need for more skilled labour. Moreover, it will empower the citizens who can become gainfully employed following the skills training.

BIT’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Richard Maughn said given the strenuous training for these programmes, female participation is remarkable. He said the participants defied the stereotypes by entering the traditionally male dominated fields.

He said there was a clear understanding that both men and women in the programmes were willing to promote equal opportunities for each other within the areas studied.

“Challenging norms and providing opportunities and proving also that we don’t have to be bounded by gender stereotypes but females can have opportunities in any occupational areas,” Maughn explained.

The Chief Executive Officer said too that the males who participated in the programmes showed immense encouragement towards their female counterparts. He called on the graduating cohort to continue supporting each other within the workplaces they will enter now.