– now going for heavy-duty operator jobs

IN todays’ society, jobs that involve the operating of heavy duty machinery largely remains a male-dominated occupation in the Region Nine (Upper-Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Lethem district.

Nevertheless, four outstanding young women of the region found the courage to defy this stereotype.

With Lethem being in the hinterland region, access to resources and employment is very hard for youths. Even with this setback, these young girls took it upon themselves to pursue their dreams.

The girls are 23-year-old Shanova Carmichael, 18-year-old Jelissa Sebastian, 30-year-old Celita Malcom and 23-year-old Shenika Xavie, all graduates of this years’ Board of the Industrial Training (BIT)Programme.

Of the 43 students that were trained, these four girls were the only females on the course, and this was very difficult because they were often made fun of, and discouraged by the boys with ideas that driving an excavator was a ‘man’s job’.

Apart from social stereotyping, being in the hinterland region was the challenge these girls faced. This was so due to it’s being so far away from the coastland, and the limited resources that were sent for the youths to utilise.

According to Jelissa Sebastian, the journey to study machinery began ever since she was a little girl, as she’d always dreamt of following in her father’s footsteps. This was said to be all the motivation she needed, apart from her love for machinery.

“There were many days I felt like giving up,” Jelissa said. “But with the support of my family and my fellow female associates, I managed to push myself further.”

The other three girls were all new to this venture at first, but when introduced to it felt that they were tasked with the mission to make other ndigenous women aware of their potential and not to be discouraged by people.

It’s is no lie that being a ‘newbie’ to machinery was easy. Despite the difficulty, Heavy-duty operations are very prevalent in the region, since they are rapidly under expansion and development. As such, employment is this field is somewhat easier to find, and opens doors for opening your own business in the future.

One of the girls told this newspaper that they had to put in some 1080 hours of manual labour during a four-month period. Even though this wasn’t easy, they never gave up. Hot days in the sun were normal for them. Walking long distances to get to school and walking back at nightfall are now things of the past.

“Nothing comes easy in life; you have to push for what you want,” said one of the young ladies.

The girls are now on a mission to empower women to discover their strength and follow their passion. They will now be licensed contractors, and will soon be integrated into the labour force to aid in the grading of roads among other projects.

The girls would like to urge other youths to follow their dreams and never settle for less, because education is the key to a brighter future and Guyana.