The Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute is aiming to break the perception of gender-type jobs by offering driver/salesman training to women in its latest programme.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release the new programme which was launched under the theme ‘Building capacity for skills advancement’ will see 20 women undergoing training as driver/salespersons. Training is also being offered in other areas such as sewing, garment construction and fabric designing and food preparation and catering.
In his keynote address, Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir said, “We have to change out minds with respect to the kind of work that women can do.” The distribution sector is one of the fastest growing in the economy and it is against this backdrop that the institute is offering the course to 20 of the 150 women that the new programme is targeting.
Nadir noted that advertisements in the daily seeking drivers/salesmen often target men but women could be just as effective as their male counterparts in this type of job. “We have to change the man to person because women are not confined to baking, sewing and answering telephones,” he said.
Each class will also benefit from courses in Office Procedures and entrepreneurial skills. Nadir also pointed out that even though acquiring a skill does not mean instant wealth, women who are trained are in a better position to make positive changes in their lives and the lives of their children while at the same time engaging in income generating activities. “Whatever skills you acquire will contribute to you taking up leadership positions,” he said.
Nadir also encouraged women to participate in activities outside the home because less than half of Guyanese women engage in economic activities and according to the 2006 National Census, women make up 52 per cent of the population. “This means that 25 percent of the productive workforce is not engaged in activities that would contribute to the national economy,” the release said.
GINA also said apart from the money that is being spent in the formal education system, government spends more than $1.5 billion in additional training. Nadir said government funds for his ministry alone will amount to about $131 million to execute its training programmes this year. Additionally, through donor organisations, the Board of Industrial Training will spend $55 million.
“We spend a tremendous amount of your taxpayer dollars invested in skills training for people, especially those who did not complete their secondary education and if you don’t make full use of the training, then you are wasting your own money,” he told the audience.
Additionally, Chairperson of the Women and Gender Equality Commission and former Minister of Human Services Indra Chandarpal who spearheaded the initiative in its formative years, said that the programme is government’s response to the need for empowering women in Guyana. She also said the Ministry of Human Services is working to expand the programme and urged women to make the most of the opportunity to improve themselves and their families.
