General Motors (GM) Egypt celebrated the graduation of the first 30 women technicians in the automotive sector in Egypt, as part of the Economic Integration Programme for women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region (EconoWin), in cooperation with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ).

اThe graduation ceremony was attended by the GM Egypt leadership team, headed by Tarek Atta, chairperson and managing director of GM Egypt and North Africa, Sabastian Wilde, deputy head of German Cooperation at the German embassy in Cairo, Hildegard Vogelmann, EconoWin programme director in the MENA region, and the German Development Cooperation, GIZ, team in Cairo.

The programme aims to develop women technicians in order to qualify them to work in the GM Egypt plant in the Sixth of October City to achieve a higher percentage of women technicians’ workforce by 2020, and foster this initiative in the entire automotive sector.

The women technicians were exposed to a three month training and development programme which included a company induction programme; a plant orientation tour; a soft skills course; a computer and business English and technical and quality skills course.

“Out of the 30 women technicians who graduated from this programme, GM hired 11 women in their plant. The female population in GM Egypt represents around 21% of our staff, serving in critical and leadership positions,” said Atta.

“This programme will create more job opportunities for women in favour of a better future, and will strengthen our strategy to support diversity and leverage women’s capabilities at the workplace, in line with Egypt’s strategy to emphasise women’s role in society,” Atta concluded.