Report by Augustine Bill Kollie-augustinekollie87@gmail.com
ZWEDRU CITY: Despite low rate of female students in Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program in Liberia, women and girls are still acquiring trainings in mechanical and electrical engineering which are male-dominated.
Lillian Kamaweah is a 26 year old student receiving training in Electrical engineering at the Zwedru Multilateral High School in Grand Gedeh County.
She started the technical skills training as a 10th grade student in 2018; a precondition for every student acquiring Technical, Vocational Education and Training at the school.
The European Union in September 2018 presented Nineteen Million, five hundred thousand euro ($19, 500, 000) to the Government of Liberia to boost its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program.
Grand Gedeh Multilateral High School is currently promoting the YOUTH RISING Technical Training for Young Liberians, an initiative that aims to support Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Liberia.
The six years TVET program is being funded by the European Union (EU) in-partnership with the Ministry of Education and Youth and Sports, implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
20 year old Lillian is now involved with electrical demonstrations of what is known as the single pole, single choke, and double pole, double choke in parallel and both in series.
My friends usually tell me that I will die from current, if I become a professional electrician, but I can ignore all of those statements because I really want to learn electrical work.
And as a 12th grade student, my desire is to become a professional electrician that would work to electrify my Country Liberia and to also become a role model for other young women and girls who see Technical skills training as difficult
I see limited number of females doing electrical work in Liberia so, I want to take the lead and become an example for other female students to follow.” Lillian stated.
The prospective female electrician furthered encouraged other female students to challenge their male counterparts in Technical Vocational education and Training, TVET, as means of bridging the existing gender disparity in Liberia.
Accordingly, the YOUTH RISING Project is in alignment with Liberia’s National TVET Policy (2015-2020). The project contributes to youth employment by improving access to quality technical and vocational education for young women and men, promoting entrepreneurship, and connecting education with the private sector.
To achieve this goal the project is supporting six schools which are the Monrovia Vocational Training Center in Montserrado County, Booker Washington Institute in Kakata, Margibi, Greenville Multilateral High School in Sinoe County, Zwedru Multilateral High School in Grand Gedeh and Cape Palmas High School in Maryland County.
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