By Lumbiwe Mwanza
WOMEN in the construction sector should take a leading role by registering their companies and enhancing their contribution capacity to national development, National Council for Construction (NCC) Public Relations Officer Chama Mwansa has said.
Speaking to The Scoop, Ms. Mwansa said that there had been a slight improvement over the last three years from 5 percent to 10 percent women involvement in the construction sector.
She however said that despite the improvement in women involvement over the last three years, more women should be encouraged to take up opportunities that the sector offered.
“For the last three years, we have recorded about 10 percent women participation in the construction sector. It is an improvement from 5 percent that has been recorded. However, we continue to encourage women to participate in the sector and register their companies,” Ms. Mwansa said.
She further explained that the council was doing everything possible to also engage the young people in schools to encourage them to take up career paths related to the construction sector.
She said that engagement programs targeting Grades 11 and 12 pupils in Eastern and Luapula Provinces had been implemented and that so far, over 1, 800 pupils have been reached.
She said that various interventions such as coming up with specific programs for the women and youths had been put in place by the Council to ensure that more women were encouraged to venture into the construction sector.
“The construction sector is still dominated by males. However, as the Council, we have been implementing programs targeting specifically women and youths. We also have programs targeting schools to engage the young people to think about careers in the construction sector. Over the years, we have engaged over 1, 800 pupils and we hope most of them will take up career paths in the construction sector,” she explained.
She insisted that the women should keep on being active in the construction sector and change the perception that the sector was a preserve for men only.
She further reaffirmed the commitment towards ensuring that the construction sector grew and that women involvement in the sector was encouraged to record a further increase from the current 10 percent.
