ACE-ESD trains 25 female engineers, technicians & operators from Rwanda Energy Group (REG)
The African Centre of Excellence in Energy for Sustainable Development has provided theoretical and practical skills to 25 women engineers, technicians& operators from Rwanda Energy Group in order to equip them with the required skills to better understand and perform in their current areas of work.
During a 10-day training, newly hired female engineers, technicians & operators were assisted in learning their jobs and enhancing the existing staff's capabilities. This has been a good opportunity to instill a broader practical knowledge of all the areas of transmission-generation utility in Rwanda and beyond.
Trainees were trained by ACE-ESD engineers and conducted practical experiments in the acquired High E- Tech Smatgrid Laboratory facility, found at ACEESD, one facility of this kind in the region.
Speaking at the closing of the training, one of the trainees acknowledged the provided skills and requested that such kind of training be extended to other staff.
“We are so proud of the skills we got. We had a good training team and we hope the skills we got will help us better perform in our daily duties. We request that this kind of training be extended to other staff and if possible, increase the period of the training”, she said.
Josephine Uwamahoro, who spoke on behalf of REG management, reiterated the commitment of REG to ensure women are brought on board in the energy sector at all levels “We want to see women in REG fully empowered to occupy all positions be technical or managerial ones”, she said.
She added, “I urge you to keep the courage that you showed during this training and make sure the time you spent and skills you got are reflected in the performance you will show once back to your duties.”
The energy space in Rwanda continues to be a male-dominated workforce where female technicians are significantly under-represented. According to the 2020 EAEP gender assessment report of the energy sector in Rwanda, women employed in technical roles in 11 entities surveyed indicated that only 10% were working in technical roles whereas only 2% were technicians. Currently, only 22% of REG staff are female.
Through REG, Rwanda has committed to creating the world’s first all-female-workforce power plant at the new Nyabarongo facility outside of Kigali. The plant construction has commenced, with anticipated commissioning in 2024, giving REG a deadline for identifying, training, and empowering an all-female workforce across all ranks.