By Brian Itai
“As a single mother, it was never easy to fend for myself and the baby,” she says.
Still, the girl, madly fascinated by wires, screwdrivers and pliers, looks forward to a bright future.
“As a young girl, I was impressed with what my peers in Mbera were doing in this field. Little did I know electrical installation would become my source of income,” she says.
From watching her peers at work to learning the basics of home electrical circuits at the skills development centre in her community, Chingondo believes a woman can do any work if committed to it.
“When I looked at this course, an inner voice told me: ‘You can do it, Charity.’ I was convinced I could do it. I am happy to have silenced those who doubted a woman can do it,” she says.
Chingondo was among 74 trainees who received beginners’ certificates from the Tevet Authority on September 18.
Her fashion and design colleague Jesse Paul, from Abdul Village in Traditional Authority Che Mbera, was overjoyed.
She recounts: “My life seemed meaningless when I failed my Malawi School of Certificate Examinations, but this training has restored by dreams and hope.
“When I enrolled here, I fully focus on my studies and I want to encourage my peers that this is the way to go. There are several options out of poverty. Girls and women require relevant skills to become self-reliant instead of depending on men likely to take advantage of us.”
The young women’s enthusiasm amplify the importance of equal participation of men and women in technical and vocational training.
The Gender Equality Act of 2013 requires neither sex to take more than 60 percent of public jobs or training opportunities, but women still lag behind.
Despite the prescribed the 60:40 ratio for public institutions, vocational and technical colleges remain male-dominated—a call for a swift shift to increase women participation in skills development and national economic growth.
The increased sights of the likes of Chingondo and Paul testify to a steady mindset shift and women’s enrolment in colleges regulated by the Tevet Authority.
Enrolment trends show women in formal apprenticeship programmes has risen from just over a quarter to below half since 2006.
Women and girls constituted 28 percent of the 1 486 selected trainees in 2016 and stagnated at about 43 percent of 2 065 in 2019 and 6 348 this year.
Teveta director of training programmes Modesto Gomani says Tevet colleges are on course to catch up in line with gender laws.
Tallies by the Tevet Authority show women and girls have outnumbered their male peers in informal apprenticeship programmes.
They represented 59 percent of 5 085 trainees selected in the 2022/23 financial year and 51 percent of 10 047 trained in the 2024/25 fiscal year.
Gomani says the regulatory authority has embarked on a strategic move to boost women representation in the skills development agenda.
He states: “Our major objective is to reach out to increase access to relevant skills using different methodologies and approaches.
“We are working with traditional leaders to woo girls to our training institutions. We have also trained role models to join the cause. The strategic target is to reach a 50:50 situation and we are making inroads.”
Community colleges are part of the national agenda for greater access to Tevet, including equal representation of men and women.
Mbera’s skills development centre started in 2023 with a mobile van deployed to train the youth in hard-to-reach communities.
The brick-and-mortal facility opened its doors the following year when community leaders and Balaka Town Council mobilised resources for the purpose.
What the youth are learning at the centre is what will build the future of our community and country. Currently, it is tough for the youth to find meaningful income-generating activities to do. The skills they gain here will help them become better citizens.
(T/A Che Mbera.)
The article was first published by Nation Publications Limited in Malawi