The work is challenging and demands long spells away from home, but the country’s only line school for women is changing attitudes in a male-dominated field
arianela Hernández Valencia knows what life without electricity is like. “As a child, I grew up in a house without electricity, which meant having to do homework by candlelight,” she says. “It was difficult.”
Graduates of the year-long pilot project, led by ISA, Latin America’s largest energy transmission company, with the training group Tener Futuro Corporation, are guaranteed a job with one of two contractors, Instelec and Salomón Durán. Students are taught about safety, rigging and knot tying, all in a hands-on environment.
You need to be able to keep a cool head, especially when something unexpected happens and you’re high up a towerShe was working as a restaurant administrator in Medellín when her partner – a lineman – told her about the recruitment drive. Her application was successful, but two weeks into the apprenticeship, her partner dealt an unexpected blow.
It is more than 10 years since Colombia achieved 95% electrical coverage, but access for the most remote areas is difficult. In 2020, an estimatedAbout 2,500 line workers are active, and an estimated 500 more are needed to keep up with electrification demands; there are plans to build between 1,200 and 2,500km of new power lines by 2025.
But it does not come without sacrifice. Most of the women are mothers who may have had to make difficult decisions about childcare. Diana Lizeth Lizarazo Moreno started the programme when her youngest was 18 months old. When her grandmother died, she was given special dispensation to return home for the funeral.
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