A Breakthrough for Women in the Technical Fields
Monrovia, Liberia – As part of its Phase Two Expansion, ArcelorMittal Liberia has started a rigorous training program for sixteen new Liberian train drivers, reaffirming the company’s long-standing dedication to nurturing local talent and empowering the upcoming generation of rail experts. Ms. Ophena N. Nimley, one of this new batch, is set to become Liberia’s first female train driver, an encouraging milestone for women pursuing professions in technical fields that are traditionally dominated by men.
Through a demanding training pathway that covers safety procedures, locomotive operations, shunting, yard systems, brake technologies, and supervised hands-on practice, many of the trainees who started the program with no prior experience have progressed from Train Assistant Trainees to Train Assistants and are currently working toward full certification.
AML’s interest in locomotive training in Liberia stems from the post-war period when the nation had almost no manpower engaged in rail operations. The Yekepa–Buchanan rail track had been severely damaged by years of fighting when the company took over the abandoned LAMCO railway in the mid-2000s, and the country lacked qualified Liberians who could run or maintain contemporary locomotives.
AML realized that reconstructing the infrastructure by itself would not be sufficient to maintain operations; instead, the company needed to start from scratch in terms of human capacity. Its long-term operational plan was built around this. AML started creating a new generation of Liberian train assistants, technicians, and operators through its Yekepa Vocational Training Center and a number of apprenticeship programs. With the help of seasoned mentors who helped trainees move from simple yard tasks to more complex operational responsibilities, these programs developed into globally recognized training platforms.
The effects of these expenditures are now evident throughout Liberia’s sole commercial railway network. Liberians who progressed through the company’s training program currently make up the majority of AML’s train drivers, dispatchers, and rail supervisors. In addition to keeping Liberians at the forefront of the nation’s expanding rail and mining industries, the initiative has enabled young people in Nimba, Bong, and Grand Bassa counties find steady, skilled employment.
The company’s dedication to long-term skills transfer, women inclusion, and national workforce development is demonstrated by the enhanced local workforce, which is now supplemented by pioneers like Ophena Nimley, as ArcelorMittal Liberia speeds up its Phase Two Expansion. The story of Liberia’s first female train driver represents both individual success and the country’s rail operations’ larger development into a technically sound and domestically driven sector.
