Women learn non-traditional skills

Skilled tradesman like carpenters, welders, electricians and mechanics always seem to be in short supply in Belize… so it only stands to reason that more and more people would become interested in acquiring those valuable skills. Ann-Marie met a few of them this morning.

Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting

It takes determination…

Student

“If you’re not determined to do it, you won’t do it because sometimes it’s hard, but once you put your mind to it, it’s easy.”

It takes skill…

Student

“It’s a man and a lady world after this. We’re doing lots of things with iron. Everything men can do we can do too.”

And courage…

Student

“As a woman with a family, you know it will take a lot of courage because it’s not easy to maintain a family, regardless of the father being there.”

Over five months ago two dozen women, who ventured into the non-traditional areas of welding, carpentry, auto-mechanic and electrical, had an opportunity to show off their skills training at an open house held at the Centre for Employment Training on St. Thomas Street.

National Project Co-ordinator, Sumaiya Morris, says today’s open house was anything but traditional.

Sumaiya Morris, Nat’l Project Co-ordinator

“When you visit regular open houses, students are usually displaying finished products. We wanted our open house to be very interactive, so we have the women actually involved in displaying projects as they go along and they interact with their visitors and actually explain to them what they’re doing. We also wanted this to be an opportunity for us to keep on convincing the community that women can truly do well in this area.”

Waltrene Neal, enrolled in the electrical programme, is proving that gender has no bearing when it comes to handling high voltage.

Waltrene Neal, Electrical Student

“I’m installing a three way switch which is connected to a four-way switch. That three-way will control two lights. With these switch you can put on a light from three directions in the house.”

“I can do it if I really try, and I’ve watch a lot of electricians wire a house and I don’t see them getting shocked, so I belive I won’t get shocked either.”

Dalia Lenarez, Electrical Student

“I’m connecting the live wires in the panel box, the lives that will control the whole thing to the panel box.”

What auto mechanic student Olga Jones is doing is taking down an engine block to pieces and setting it up-all in an effort to gain experience. Jones is especially proud that she has used some of her non-traditional training to service her family’s van.

Olga Jones, Auto Mechanic Student

“We worked on the spark plug, we changed the oil filter and some of the spark plugs on the van weren’t the correct gauge, so we fixed that also.”

For Consita Beeks, when times get rough the spirit of sisterhood keeps her calm.

Consita Beeks, Welding Student

“All of us women cooperate together. Our teacher is also very supportive. Sometimes you might have a slight problem, and you come to school and you feel good because you talk to the ladies about it and they run jokes and we’re all like one family at work.”

And Beeks has pledged to continue working in welding to help her family.

Consita Beeks

“It’s a dining table, to the top I want to put either glass or mahogany, and then I’m going to put a four square things underneath it with a round thing to the bottom, so I could put a flowerpot underneath.”

And underneath it all, Beeks is not going at it alone. Her husband, Walter, takes care of their six girls ages five to thirteen, when she’s at school three night per week.

Walter Beeks, Consita’saguja03 Husband

“The cooking, the washing, the kids do that before they go to school and we have no problem. I supervise them, I stay at home and see that everything is going well. Sometimes in the night I bring them to meet their mother going home, and sometimes they go to bed. Sometimes during school days, after they’ve done their homework, I let them watch a little movie, a little cartoon and at 8:00 everybody has to go to bed.”

“I work waterfront, and I work two times or sometimes one time for the month. So most of the time I am right at home for my kids and my wife.”

Rahkin Brown, Welding Student

“I’m expecting at the end of this month, that I will have this crib for a lifetime to remind me of my family and my child.”

Brown painstakingly puts on the finishing touches as she completes her first crib.

Rahkim Brown, Welding Student

“Most of the time when we feel sick, we still make the effort to come because it’s something that we want to do. And the girls always support us to come because if we have a simple headache, I don’t think that should stop us from coming to school because it’s something that we want to do, and we want to show everybody that we have the skills like men.”

Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.

The first group of women enrolled in the non-traditional skills training programme is scheduled to graduate in May. The programme is a joint effort of the I.D.B. and Ministry of Education.