MiDA plans to build capacity of 300 female engineering students

The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) has planned to enrol about 300 female engineering students from tertiary institutions onto an Internships and Mentoring Programme, under its Gender and Social Inclusion Directorate initiative.

The initiative is to build skills and capacities of females, attract them into the energy sector, prepare them for employment and bridge the gender inequality gap in the country.

Dr Cherub Antwi-Nsiah, Director of Gender and Social Inclusion Unit at MiDA, who announced these at a media briefing in Accra, said the scheme, which was under the Compact II project, sought to solve the constraints in the energy sector, and supply reliable power for effective development.

He said the aim of the project was also to ensure gender-responsive and socially inclusive project implementation.

“We want to promote institutional development of gender and energy organisations for improving gender and social inclusion practices, as well as advocating for change in gender relations in the energy sector,” Dr Antwi-Nsiah said.

According to her, there was the need to train more females in the energy sector, stressing that the programme would help females to undertake courses in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programmes.

Dr Antwi-Nsiah said that the first batch of 50 engineering students, selected from five public institutions, would begin two months mentoring programmes in energy.

“We are starting with 50 female from the tertiary, technical and as well as the vocational institutions, it will be a pilot scheme, which will end in 2021,” she explained.

Dr Antwi-Nsiah said the students would be sent to public institutions, including the Energy Commission, Ghana Standards Authority and the Electricity Company of Ghana.