Works and Housing Ministry facilitates training for women engineers

The Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye has presented certificates to 32 Women Engineers of the Ministry and its Departments and Agencies who have successfully completed a two-year engineering training programme funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Presenting the certificates, the Minister commended them for their efforts and dedication throughout the programme and indicated the Ministry’s continuous support for Women in Engineering.

The two-year programme which commenced in 2019 intended to promote women’s participation and influence in decision making processes at all-levels, in particular, the construction field, by building capacities of professional women engineers.

The decision by the Government of the Republic of Korea through KOICA to support the Works and Housing Ministry was borne out of the need to bridge the gender disparity and inequality in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and profession globally.

The successful completion of the capacity enhancing programmes have resulted in the creation of an Association of Professional Women in the Built Environment (ProWiBE) with the quest to build a strong united female representation within the Works and Housing subsector.

The ProWiBE would among other things provide Higher Training Courses, Mentoring and Counselling for female students in Engineering. By so doing, they will serve as positive role models who will encourage more females to venture into engineering and thereby bridging the gap between females and male employees.

While the Ministry will continue to imbibe in its staff the requisite knowledge, skills and right attitudes through systematic Training and Development to meet current and future challenges, it is also open to collaboration with other international institutions for similar capacity training programmes as a way of promoting and advancing the course of Women in Engineering in the country.