The February 5 event ushered in a new public vision of vocational occupations in Mongolia, challenging the widespread perception that females were not fit in such heavy industries as mining and construction. 

According to Tuv Azza LLC Human Resource Manager G.Altantuya, as reported in the UB Post newspaper, heavy industries were interested in hiring females, particularly in the fields of engineering and security. “Women can be very successful once they chose these majors,” she said.

Advisor to the Minister of Labour, Ts. Nyamsuren, also quoted in the UB Post, said the ministry was making changes in relevant policies and laws to enable women to undertake positions in technical fields.

A total of 80 girls took part in the “Girls’ Day” event, where they received information about Mongolia’s vocational education, the specifics of different technical professions and current career opportunities.

They also took part in workshops, using tools and practising their skills under the guidance of teachers in the fields of carpentry, bricklaying, house-painting, electrical engineering and geodesy.

More than 15 Mongolian companies representing the mining, construction, food, hospitality, and trade and commerce sectors provided information on their particular areas of specialisation.  

Thanks to the success of the first “Girls’ Day” – organised in cooperation with the Institute of Engineering Technology, the GIZ Cooperative Vocational Training (CVT) Project will support more vocational schools in organising similar activities throughout 2015, with the aim of making “Girls’ Day” an annual event in Mongolia.

GIZ’s CVT Project is co-financed by German Government, SDC and the Australian government and is aimed at reforming Mongolia’s vocational education sector.

The project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), will be implemented by The Asia Foundation in collaboration with the City Municipality of Ulaanbaatar for the next four years. 

The project launch brought together more than 150 representatives from the Capital City Governor’s Office and the Mayor’s Office, Ulaanbaatar districts and khoroos and civil society to discuss the project’s goals, outcomes and future collaboration.

“We are working to strengthen Ulaanbaatar city’s self-governance based on direct citizen participation by ensuring the transparency and openness of our state affairs and improving citizens’ access to public services,” said Head of Ulaanbaatar City Mayor’s Office, B. Badral at the launch workshop. “Our ultimate goal is to build a city that is competitive and provides a safe and healthy environment for its residents.”

The project will focus on empowering district and khoroo governments to deliver public services and involve citizens in budget decision-making. To achieve these objectives, the project will work closely with local governments and citizens to ensure that services and investments respond to citizens’ priorities.
 
“This project marks a milestone for SDC’s presence in Mongolia,” said SDC Director of Cooperation Markus Waldvogel. “It is the first time that SDC has decided to cooperate on improving governance and furthering decentralisation in an urban area, having the capital city municipality as a partner.”

Mr Waldvogel said the project would empower residents of ger areas to participate in, and take responsibility for, improving their livelihoods. It was about fostering citizens’ roles in developing democratic, accountable and transparent local government.

“Now, in multi-partnership, we are pooling our teams and know-how to work hand-in-hand with the city to develop this new project,” said Meloney Lindberg, The Asia Foundation - Mongolia Office Country Representative.

“The project goal will be achieved through the attainment of five outputs, which are: Increasing citizens’ participation in budgeting and planning; improving public service delivery; strengthening the government’s capability, and institutionalising capability-strengthening programmes.”

The project selected 33 khoroos in Ulaanbaatar’s ger areas spanning all nine of the city’s districts, and will reach an estimated 330,000 citizens. The project will be implemented in partnership with civil society organisations represented by the Open Society Forum, Transparency International and the Centre for Democracy Education.