WEE-North Network holds maiden annual general meeting in Tamale

WEE North Network, a network of beneficiaries under the Women's Economic Empowerment in Northern Ghana (WEE-NORTH) Project has held its maiden Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Tamale with a call on women to take up careers in male-dominant trades.

The three days event held from Tuesday, March 14 to Thursday, March 16, 2022, brought together stakeholders in the industrial trade ecosystem such as NGOs, Public and Private sector players including individuals and beneficiaries under the WEE-NORTH Project, a five-year women empowerment project implemented by Alinea Foundation and sponsored by the Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

The AGM was to create the space for stakeholders to examine the successes chalked by the WEE -North project since its inception and the challenges.

It was under the theme: "The Role of Industrial Trades Training in Promoting Women's Economic Empowerment and Gender Equality in Northern Ghana."

Speaking at the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Field Manager for Alinea Foundation an NGO that implements the WEE-North project, Dr. Nancy Drost, said the presence of the WEE-North project has led to an increase in the number of women in male-dominant trades in the North.

She noted that already over 1000 young women have undergone training in different industrial trades with 20 Women Economic Empowerment Groups (WEE-Groups) formed.

She was optimistic that when given the needed training, women could do better in male-dominant trades.

Dr. Nancy stated that the WEE-North project was a five-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by Alinea Foundation to promote women's empowerment.

The project, she stated, operates in 55 districts across the five regions of the north.

The Northern Regional Director of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET Services) Latif Abdul Aziz, said in a statement that all TVET institutions were being equipped with the needed resources to enhance learning and training and encouraged parents to enrol their wards in TVET institutions.

He also said the Northern Region's office of the TVET Services, was open to everyone and people should therefore visit them when in need of information.

Principal of Dabkpa Technical Institute and Chairperson for the event Madam Mariama Mahama, in her submissions, called on women who are into TVET services, to give out their best to break the many barriers that hinder growth and development in male-dominant trades.

She also urged Ghanaians to pay more attention to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as it was the key to Ghana's self-reliance drive.