Lagos — The Lagos State chapter of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) is to partner the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria for the training of some female students in its Aeronautical Telecommunication Engineering School.

The Lagos State president of APWEN, Engr. Mrs. Felicia Agubata, disclosed this at the 2012 career talk show with the theme, "Encouraging the girl child towards Science and Engineering" organized for some female students in various schools across Lagos and Ogun states.

The initiative, she said, is aimed at increasing the female workforce in the aviation industry in the near future.

Engr. Agubata explained that more female aeronautical engineers will be produced in the country as soon as the partnership with NCAT starts yielding result, adding that the Rector of NCAT, Capt. Chinyere Kalu, was interested in the training being the first female pilot in the country.

The APWEN president said it was important to catch the female students young into engineering as the course was aimed at solving problems.

"We need to catch them young because optimal solution lies in our hands. These young female students, get them to tell them more the beauty of engineering".

She noted that Nigeria was not left out in the challenges faced in the aviation sector throughout the world as regards shortage of manpower, adding that the future was in the hands of the young aspiring engineers.

"Every quarter, we are going to assemble some group of students and have a career talk with them in order to encourage them in becoming engineers."

Also advising the female students, Engr Mrs Nwakaego Ojukwu, a retired general manager, Electronics Communications, NAMA, urged them not to be intimidated with the presence of their male counterparts while on their engineering course, adding that the female students have been excelling in that department.

She also urged them not to feel inferior to their male counterparts but to remain committed to achieving their goal by not giving up the struggle.

The first scholarship award is expected to take place in September this year with a N1 million prize at stake.

With Agency Report