SEforALL helping young women build renewable energy careers in Sierra Leone

For International Women’s Day on 8 March, Sustainable Energy for All has launched an innovative traineeship in Sierra Leone that will help young women gain valuable work experience to help build successful careers in renewable energy. 

The six-month traineeship will provide hands-on technical training to 12 recent or soon-to-be university graduates by having them participate in the execution of a health electrification project being managed by SEforALL in the country. 

Trainees will be on-site at hospitals and clinics, working closely with SEforALL and its implementing partner, EM-One, to develop solar installations. In addition to their technical work, SEforALL is providing the women with soft skills training throughout the six months. 

Expressing her excitement to be selected as a trainee, Mariatu Bangura said, “This training with SEforALL has given me the opportunity to make my dream come true. In the next six months I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can, and a major improvement in my technical skills. 

A joint collaboration between SEforALL’s Powering Healthcare and Women and Youth at the Forefront programmes, this is the first in-country training of its kind launched by SEforALL aimed at giving young women practical experience and skills within the energy sector. 

The energy sector lags others in terms of a gender balanced workforce, which follows a broader trend of unequal female representation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers. Yet, women have an equal stake in the global energy transition and should benefit from its economic opportunities, including jobs. 

This is why SEforALL established the training in Sierra Leone and hopes to replicate it in additional countries within the next year. 

Speaking about the project, Rosemary Idem, Programme Manager at SEforALL, said “As the global energy transition takes shape, we need to focus on how women benefit. This includes making sure women around the world are part of the energy workforce. This Sierra Leone traineeship seeks to prove that with better access to training and mentorship, women can build thriving careers in energy.” 

The 12 women were selected through a competitive application process run by SEforALL. The traineeship was made possible by funding provided to the health electrification project by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office, as well as funds from the Government of Iceland, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Austrian Development Cooperation. 

Learn more about SEforALL’s Women and Youth at the Forefront programme here.