Wilfred Enow Agbor
Yaounde, Cameroon
Gone are the days when a certain trade like automotive repair is only reserved for a man. Today, some women are becoming automotive mechanics, and one of those women is Ms Ngopohla Therese Flore.
Therese is a student at Alpha Automobile Mechanics Center in Yaoundé where she is learning to become a mechanic. When iCameroon asked her why she chose the trade,
Ngopohla Therese Flore, Auto Mechanic Student
Therese said she developed interest in automobiles when she was a child. “I have always wanted to become a driver,” she told iCameroon. When Therese received a scholarship from the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training to learn automotive repair, she said her dream came true.
Therese has been learning to become an automotive mechanic for ten months now and has two months left before she graduates. She and other students are
Students at Alpha Automobile Mechanics Center in Yaoundé
now working on a V6 engine and taking other automotive classes necessary for completion. Upon graduation, Therese believes that her training program will bring her numerous opportunities. She hopes to become a general automotive technician or work with any automobile company as an analyst.
Ninkam Tchabe, a male student at Alpha Automobile Mechanics Center, admits that Therese is not treated differently because she is a female. Tchabe is happy
Mungu Charles, a teacher at Alpha Automobile Mechanics Center
with computer technology that has made it possible for all of them to easily diagnose mechanical problems in cars.
Mungu Charles, a teacher at the center, reports that any company that employs one of his students will not regret, because students are willing to learn from the qualified instructors they have at the center. Mr. Mungu calls on the government to encourage and equip apprenticeship schools, so that more youths are trained to become workers or self-employers.
