22 Aug 2023

African Mining Services (AMS) has been commended for its contribution to the Mindset Change agenda through deepening inclusion of women in the male dominated space.

AMS, in partnership with Ministry of Education and Skills Development - Ghanzi region organised Women in Mining boot camp (career fair) themed; AMS Unlocking Mining Career  Opportunities for the Girl Child.

Officiating at the launch of the  boot camp, Assistant Minister of Education and skills Development, Ms Nnaniki Makwinja said the boot camp was opportune to prepare young women for occupations traditionally reserved for males.

This, she said, was in line with the country’s aspirations and would help women to be part and parcel of espoused knowledge-based society, at the same time ending stereotype.

She said such career fairs were important, particularly that the country was breaking away from theoretical lines of career towards vocational routes called multiple pathways, being piloted in selected schools.

Ms Makwinja said the career fair would go a long way in helping women to make informed decisions when choosing careers.

She argued that as much as it was essential to consider salary issues in choosing any career, self-awareness also played a vital role, saying both factors would lead to job satisfaction, self-fulfillment and productivity. “There is a need to consider a career that matches one’s personality,” she said.

Makwinja said breaking down barriers called for more women to have Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills and she cited that the demand for such skills in mining was high.

“Girls! Breaking such boundaries is possible. Evidence can be drawn from the trends in Botswana PSLE, JCE and BGCSE examinations results, which indicated that you performed better than your male counterparts,” she said. Despite conceding that as women grew, they were confronted by challenges, she was still confident that women could still do better than their male counterparts.

She regretted that lack of resources limited women’s ambitions, exacerbated by the fact that women were traditionally primary family caretakers. Ms Makwinja said the pull-down syndrome was holding women back. “Celebrate others’ success because tomorrow they will pull you up.”

In her welcome remarks, Kgosi Annah Rankho of Ghanzi, who held that Mindset Change was an ingredient of success,   challenged women to grab every opportunity presented to them and be change agents. AMS project manager, Mr Caster Mothibedi said the company, which has sponsored the career fair to the tune of  P135 000, was fully  behind women empowerment .

Mr Mothibedi said AMS wanted to see Mindset Change in students for them to start looking for opportunities in mining, saying the trade was not all about men. “The future is in your hands, grab this opportunity to guide you towards your career opportunity.”

He challenged participants to shun drugs as they would jeopardise their future. In her motivational speech, Ms Dineo Swartz-Mokomo told participants to change their mindset and start knowing that success was not based on gender issues but on capability and commitment.

Ms Swartz-Mokomo challenged women to go for nontraditional careers.

Ghanzi District Council Chairperson, Mr Jeremiah Tibi said by inducting women on mining career at an early age was equal to laying a solid foundation.

He said there was a need to introduce mining courses in the Ghanzi Brigade to enable the community to benefit from the recently opened Motheo Copper Mine.

The objectives  of  the boot camp was to empower, support and inspire the girl child to be interested in the mining industry. ENDS