WOMEN continue to dominate almost every field they get into, whether it’s law, medicine, the culinary arts, journalism, or even engineering.
In Guyana, women continue to push the boundaries and succeed at more than just the traditional roles of nurturing, making a home, teaching, nursing or performing secretarial duties in an office setting.

Today, they pursue the careers in the armed forces, can be in Parliament, and have dedicated time to learning in the fields of technology and engineering.
In Guyana, there are many women in the field of engineering, one of them being Niebert Blair. In 2005, she graduated as the top student from the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Technology and has represented Guyana in the field of engineering for several years, attaining a noble reputation for herself.

Born in Hopetown Village, West Coast Berbice, Niebert grew up repairing items around the home, sometimes unscrewing the screws on her grandmother’s radio, and at some point, even tried to repair her bicycle. She loves working with her hands and before even thinking about a career as an engineer, Niebert wanted to be a doctor.

Through her mother’s continued push and encouragement, Niebert successfully wrote her examinations at the New Amsterdam Technical Institute and the GuySuCo Training School.
“I haven’t regretted it. It’s a good choice, it’s always something exciting, and I do think she was right, so the reason I’m an engineer is through the guidance of my mom,” Niebert told the Sunday Chronicle.

From then, she went on to pursue studies in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Guyana and later worked at Demerara Distillers Limited in management training, and as a plant engineer and subsequently, a plant manager.

“I left there and I worked and I studied at Cambridge and I did a masters in industrial systems, manufacturing and management. After leaving Cambridge, I returned to Guyana worked for a bit and then I went on to work with Belize electricity limited, and then that’s where I continued to specialise in my career as an energy engineer.”

She returned to Guyana and worked at the Guyana Power and Light and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat.
Niebert continued to study and went on to read for her PHD in Mechanical Engineering where she specialised in developing power systems for remote communities.
“I spent three years doing that and my intention of doing that, after working both in Belize and Guyana (specifically during her time at CARICOM) was to find a way to understand how to make a power system more efficient, as well as to look at the economic and social impacts these will have,” she added.

After completing her PHD in 2020, Niebert started to work with the GIZ, (a German Development Corporation), on projects within the Caribbean. She is still an employee there.
Currently, she works in areas of capacity building, as well as energy and transports, while also looking at immobility strategies among six member states of which Guyana is a member.
In addition to being an engineer, she also began her career as a part-time lecturer at the University of Guyana at the Faculty of Technology.

In her first trip out of Guyana Niebert visited Johannesburg, South Africa, with international organization, Council for World Mission. While there, she was able to see where world renowned Nelson Mandela lived, his prison cell and other places he would have walked. This trip, she said, was an impacting one.
“So, I pretty much enjoy working in engineering. The most challenging aspect would be where I knew I really had to leave my family.”

Outside of engineering, Blair admitted to being a cricket player for most of her time overseas and at university, basketball during her time in Cambridge and New Zealand.
Apart from sports, Blair said she loves art and music. “Sometimes I might take time and just play music, even if it’s by myself. I love playing music by myself.”

When asked for any advice she would give to young women interested in engineering, she said, “It’s fun. That’s the first thing. If you want to do something that’s fun, do engineering.
“Engineering allows you to think, and be analytical, especially if you’re a natural analytical thinker. At the end of the day, it’s a profession, or some persons call it a vacation as well, and you have to like what you do.”