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Shirina Akter teaching a class of boys at UCEP school, Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 2015.

It may be 35 degrees in Dhaka, but Shirina is the picture of cool. This thirty year old, busy working mum is a trailblazer of many kinds. As a woman in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), she is a progressive role model to girls globally.

She is helping children from very poor backgrounds to build a better future through vocational skills, as an instructor at UCEP school (Underprivileged Children’s Educational Programme) in Bangladesh.

UCEP – proudly funded by UK aid – supports thousands of children every year to gain highly sought after skills for Bangladesh’s growing economy.

Shirina teaches hands on training in refrigeration and air conditioning systems. Each of her classes has a mixture of about 30 girls and boys.

“I love my job very much,” she says. “Providing skills training to underprivileged children, helping them to build their employability and change their socio-economic status makes me happy and proud.

“I always inspire the girl trainees saying that if I can establish myself in the non traditional sector then they can also do better in this sector and empower themselves.”

For many girls growing up in Bangladesh, child, early and forced marriage are commonplace. This means many millions of girls lose out on an education. Shirina’s family made a different choice.

“In Bangladesh society, often the family wants their daughter to marry at an early age and for village girls, this is very usual,” she says. “I owe to my family that they never created any obstacles to continue my education even in non-traditional areas for females.

“I feel proud and happy of the job I am doing at UCEP for those who are socially discriminated.”

About UCEP

The UK supports the UCEP programme in Bangladesh alongside other international donors including the Save the Children, Citi Bank NA, Australian High Commission, GIZ, many other local corporations, the private sector and the Government of Bangladesh. DFID has provided a £20 million programme over 4 years.

The programme’s purpose is to provide urban, poor, working children and youth – especially girls and women – with basic education, vocational skills training and the chance to gain employment in market led technical areas.