The following stories from Vanuatu are an extract from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."
STORY BY CINDY LIATLATMAL
I grew up doing what I do today because I wanted to be different. During my early years in school, I had already decided to take up the study of electrical engineering. In early 2000, I was offered a sponsorship award by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) to fund my education at the Vanuatu Institute of Technology. I chose their electrics programme.
As part of my studies, I did an internship with the Vila Refrigeration & Air Conditioning company during my holidays. At the time, I was basically just a helper for senior staff and learned a lot during these internships. However, things changed later in the course of a summer break when the manager gave me a new toolbox as a gift, showing the company’s appreciation to me for being part of the team during that busy time. At first, I had no idea about refrigeration, because it was different from my electricity studies. However, as time went on, my interest grew and I became more and more familiar with the basic concepts of the job. In 2001, I was employed by the company on a full time basis.
For over seven years, I worked from experience, with no proper training in refrigeration, until 2008, when I was accepted for on the job training in Samoa with the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC). Two years later, I graduated in refrigeration and was promoted to supervisor, which has been my position to this day. I achieved all this success through many years of hard work and patience. Although I faced many challenges in school being the only girl in my class, I managed to succeed with the help of my tutors and support from my parents and family. At times, my male colleagues can be very hard with me concerning my workload and position, but I am always fair and patient.
This industry is a very challenging business for me as a woman, yet it is very rewarding and it would be good to see more women and girls in this sector. I would thus like to encourage other ladies out there. If I can do it, then you can do it too! You just need to have strong self-esteem and live your dream.
STORY BY INDY MICHAEL
My journey began after an early departure from primary school, when I decided to take up an IT programme at the Vanuatu Institute of Technology. However, due to limited places in that programme, I had no choice but to enroll for the next option, which was electrical wiring. It was really difficult at times to study for a course that was not part of my future plan.
Though I was the only girl in class, I managed to graduate with a basic certificate and was ready to continue my studies abroad. Once again, things did not turn out as planned, since my parents could not afford for me to continue my studies. It was then that I decided to apply to Vila Refrigeration & Air conditioning to pursue a career as a RAC technician.
I attended a training course on Good Practices in Refrigeration in 2016. I learned about the different techniques that can be used to prevent gases such as R-22 from leaking. The course enhanced my understanding on the topic.
I was a little nervous at first, because a lot of my daily tasks included heights, of which I am rather afraid. However, bit by bit, I came to overcome my fear of heights! Having faced that fear every day, it has now become one of my strengths. Working with heavy tools is also one of the challenges that makes my job even harder at times, but I am happy that my male counterparts are continuously near to support me. The good thing about being a female technician in the RAC industry is the appreciation and recompenses received from clients for the decent work I do. Then again, at times, it can be frustrating when clients raise concerns over my not meeting their expectations on a job.
However, I am happy with being the only woman in the company in my current job and would like to reassure other girls and women to trust and think highly of themselves because, although we are women, we can also pursue careers that only men used to do.
