More females being encouraged to enter the electricial field

by Eldonté Samuel

Zeyana John, a Level Two student at the Kingstown Technical Institute (KTI), is inspiring women to consider careers in electrical installations, a field that has traditionally been dominated by men.

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Thursday, November 7, 2024 during the Skills City Showcase, she expressed her desire to demonstrate that women can thrive in these fields.

Asborne Browne, the instructor for the programme, highlighted the growing presence of women in his class, noting that, “right now we have a ratio of roughly two males to one female. It used to be male-dominated, but now I’m seeing a lot of females coming in. That is good. We welcome everybody.”

Browne’s goal was for the showcase to empower students to explain their work independently, even if some had no prior knowledge when they started the course.

In the classroom, there was an array of tools used in electrical work. John explained that one essential tool, called a socket tester, “tells us if it’s connected properly. So if three of the lights are on, it means it’s connected properly”. John added that the tool would not illuminate if the earth, live, and or ground wires were not properly connected.

Her enthusiasm for the field comes from her previous experience at the Campden Park Technical Institute, where she completed her Level One studies. She pointed out that electrical work can provide a good income because many people are cautious about dealing with electrical issues themselves.
“A simple outlet- if the terminal is loose, you’ll fear to touch it because you don’t want to get shocked. Someone would come, open a screw, put it in for you and then tell you $80- just to push in a wire into a hole,” she pointed out.

During the showcase, John guided the SEARCHLIGHT reporter through her classroom, explaining how key components like a consumer unit, or circuit breaker, function.

She demonstrated with a parallel circuit that had three light bulbs controlled by one switch that “even if we do take out one the bulbs or if it blows, it would still be able to shine through the other two because they’re all connected to each other”.