School girls exposed to Transnet’s maritime field career paths
undreds of high school girls have been invited to Transnet to take part in the Take a Girl Child to Work Day
FIFTY nine girls from Durban South schools, including Ndukwenhle High School in Umlazi, Umbilo Secondary School, Wentworth Secondary School and PR Pather Secondary School were given the opportunity to be part of the Transnet Take a Girl Child to Work Day on Thursday, 31 May.
For the past 15 years, hundreds of high school girls have been invited to Transnet to take part in the Take a Girl Child to Work Day to gain insight into the operations of the national port system and the wide range of career opportunities offered.
Through various TNPA programmes aimed at promoting gender equality and women’s development, women are increasingly taking up key operational roles traditionally filled by men, such as dredge masters, tug masters and pilots, as well as senior leadership roles.
To participate in TNPA’s programme for the day girls must be in grades 9 to 12 and be studying English, mathematics and physical science at high school level, as these are required for many of the mission critical roles in the maritime industry.
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TNPA’s general manager of corporate affairs and external relations, Moshe Motlohi said: “The years 2010 to 2020 were declared by the African Union as the African Women’s Decade along with the theme ‘grassroots approach to gender equality and women’s empowerment’. As TNPA, we are fully committed to support this vision and are on a mission to encourage young girls to fully participate in our industry.”
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“We need highly skilled, innovative and dynamic people to take our business forward. Exposing learners to careers available in the port system is a way in which we hope to inspire young people to acquire the qualifications to enter our business,” he added.
In keeping with TNPA’s commitment to supporting communities in the areas in which it operates, the girls included a combination of employees’ children and previously disadvantaged learners from TNPA’s adopted schools across the country. After an overview of the port system, the learners spent the day shadowing senior staff as they went about their day and were exposed to various aspects of port operations.
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