Minister wants more women in construction sector

More employment for women in the construction sector was advocated by Kumari Selja, Union minister for housing and poverty alleviation, during the third annual function of Karmika School for Construction Workers, a first-of-its-kind school in the country, on Tuesday.

The school has been promoted by the Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust along with the Construction Industry Development Council.

Selja said, "There is a strong need to provide more co-operation to Karmika."

She added that more and more construction companies, contractors, NGOs should avail the services of the school.

Karmika provides skill training to workers with a focus on women workers. It has also forged and strengthened linkages with the various stakeholders such as Gujarat Ambuja Cements and the Bakeri Group of Builders.

The school has already trained more than 5,000 women workers and more than 1,250 women workers holds certificates of CIDC-IGNOU examinations.

Present at the occasion, Ela Bhatt, founder, SEWA, said, "Women trained in the Karmika school are now getting two or three time higher wages."

Jayshree Vyas, chairperson, Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust, said, "The training at Karmika School has helped improve employment opportunities for women. This year the school has trained more than 870 women workers."

After the Gujarat earthquake in 2001, more than 1,200 men and women masons were trained by Karmika, who reconstructed 5,500 affected houses in over villages in Surendranagar, Patan and Kutch districts, according to a press release.