In Benin, there is currently a high demand for electricians for installing and maintaining photovoltaic systems. Solar panels are sold at every street corner in Benin, but there is no one to install and maintain them. This is because very few vocational schools offer the required training. Benin Shines, establishes a new training course in the electrician trade, with a special focus on the installation of solar panels, coupled with a strong gender equality component to ensure that more girls receive job opportunities in an otherwise male-dominated industry.
62% of the population in Benin is under 25, and over half of all adults are illiterate. Many young people are either unemployed or ‘working poor’, i.e., in underpaid, unskilled jobs that do not enable them to rise above the poverty line. Many young people, therefore, live in poverty and are unable to support themselves and their families. Formal employment opportunities are very few and young people lack relevant skills to match employers’ requirements. In the absence of employment opportunities in the countryside, young people head for the cities, where they often end up in some cases dangerous positions such as prostitution, street vendors, and mining. Women and girls are often systematically excluded from both educational and job opportunities due to traditional norms and family patterns.
Funded by the MICA Foundation, Danske Commodities, and Lindpro A/S, Benin Shines runs from September 2020 to the end of June 2022.
Impact:
The following results are expected from the project:
- Training in installation and maintenance of solar PV systems will be established in four vocational schools in four regions.
- 300 young people will complete a four-day preparatory course in basic electricity.
- 200 of these (half of whom are women) will qualify for and complete training in installation and maintenance of photovoltaic systems.
- The same 200 youth will be trained in entrepreneurship, basic business management, and life skills.
- 75% of young people are expected to be in employment six months after completion of training
- Approximately 1,000 family members of young, trained installers are expected to obtain a higher standard of living as a result of increased income.
Plan has a strong focus on gender equality because we know that it creates more stability and social and economic development if women are properly integrated into the education system and labor market. Therefore, the project here also has a strong focus on getting young women educated and into jobs. Accordingly, the project will:
- Train 15 vocational school teachers in gender equality to promote the study environment for women in the four vocational schools.
- Award 100-125 scholarships to young women to partially cover the cost of tuition and materials.
- Adapt a “school timetable” complementing women’s needs and ensure that transport and childcare do not become an obstacle to their participation.
- Set up mentoring schemes to support women on an ongoing basis to complete their vocational training, and to start up their own businesses.
- Once the first women from the project are trained and in work, they will be engaged as mentors for the next team of women. As role models, they will also help to change traditional attitudes that women cannot hold male jobs in their communities.
Learn more about Benin Shines here
