New project offers women different skills
They are fields of employment usually associated with men: carpenters, masons, mechanics. But like many things in Belize, sexual and economic roles are changing.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Under the banner, “Empowering Women For A Better Life,” a three-year programme offering non-traditional skills training for women was launched today by the Centre For Employment Training. A total of two hundred women have taken up the challenge to learn a variety of skills that include construction, automobile services, computer repair, furniture and cabinet making.
Sumaiya Morris, Project Coordinator
“These areas were chosen because one, they are already in existence at CET and two, we feel that there is a need for training in these areas and that the women either at the end of the training will be able to find jobs in these areas and be able to do something for themselves.”
“We do want to go heavily in furniture and cabinet making because we think that women will bring a special skill in terms of their attention to detail and creativity, so furniture and cabinet making will be launched at CET Cayo this September. We have an excellent instructor in furniture and cabinet making.”
The training programme, which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, is scheduled to begin in September and will be conducted in six-month cycles.
Sumaiya Morris
“Women will be going to the Centre of Employment Training and at that institution, they will be receiving technical training skills. They also will be attending workshops that are being conducted under the auspices of BOWAND and those workshops will address issues such as gender, life coping and job coping skills.”
While the skills training programme should increase the women’s chances to get a job, they are also being encouraged to become entrepreneurs.
Sumaiya Morris
“There is also a strong push to encourage women to go into self employment. And from the very beginning, when we will be doing intake, we will be trying to target women who have the sufficient motivation and instinct to go into self-employment. We have an organization, BEST, Belize Enterprise for Sustainable Technology, who was also was acting as a support institution in terms of we will be steering women in that direction to find out how they can access small business loans if self employment is an area they want to go in.”
The women say they are grateful to have been given the opportunity to improve their lives.
Nadia Nunez, Candidate, Belize City
“I said it was a good programme for women specially to help us to enhance ourselves to get into something. You know they always say that women, take women for example like us, we are only good in doing the chores in the house and doing women thing. So I am glad that this project came up to show men and society at large to know that women are here and we can do other things.”
Irma Bermudez, Candidate, Dangriga
“I wanted to do something for myself and also this is more important to help my children in the future because for me it is important to do something now in order to give them a better life tomorrow.”
Romie Anthony, Candidate, Belize City
“I wanted to get involved because then it would give me an opportunity to get into a man’s world more or less. I am interested in doing more for myself.”
Angela Card, Candidate, Belize City
“As I heard about it I said that’s for me cause I am a person who likes to fix things, fix fans and whatever, so I said well it is something for me, it will do me good, help my family as well, money wise. I know I am in it to help myself my family and others.”
At the end of the training programme, the women will receive a recognized competency certificate.
The training will take place at the CET locations in Belize City and Cayo.
