Accra, Nov. 25, GNA – The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), through its internship and mentorship programme, has equipped 75 females with requisite skills and knowledge for the power and energy sector.
The girls drawn from the southern sector of Ghana, benefited from the Ghana Power Compact Internship and Mentoring Programme (GPCIMP) moulded for young women offering Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
They were drawn from tertiary institutions, Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and underwent a two-month internship programme.
In an evaluation workshop held for the girls by the gender unit of MiDA, Dr Cherub Antwi-Nsiah, Director, Gender and Social Inclusion, said the mentorship equipped them to break the barriers usually associated with entry level of their job.
According to her, the experiences garnered by these young women have made them confidence and assertive, dealing with stereotypes and negative attitudes towards women in STEM.
“…for the internship and mentoring it is addressing entry level, getting women professionals like engineer to enter the energy organizations.”
She added that the mentoring part of the training made the programme a laudable one since it was not the usual trend.
Besides, the ladies have been given entrepreneurial skills to start their own entities if they wish so or could even engage in partnerships.
Miss Victoria Quao, a past automobile engineering student of Kpando Technical Institute, shared her experience of learning to grind valves at Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.
Miss Emmanuella Sackey, a second year mechanical engineering student of KNUST, said her classroom lectures did not fit into industry demands.
However, she learnt from the rich experience of engineers and adapted quickly to trends on the field.
Ms Miriam Korantema Amponsah, President, Women in Engineering Ghana ,ECG Chapter, mentioned career guidance and mentoring as specific actions they engaged the girls with.
She underscored the fact that sometimes knowledge acquired in school differed from industry work. And that it could disorient them in finding their feet.
According to her, stakeholders, academia and industry were putting in measures to address the seemingly disconnect between academia and industry.
She said graduates must have a bit of other disciplines to be able to function well.
Some also feel intimidated because of male dominance of the industry but the lady engineers have always mentored them. They are more than ready to support them, she said.
Source: Ghana News Agency