July 12, (THEWILL) – As the first female engineer to run an automobile maintenance garage in Northern Nigeria, Joyce Daser Adams, no doubt, stands out in a profession dominated by the men folk. In this interview withSHADE METIBOGUN, she speaks on her passion for repairing cars and other matters. Excerpts.
Why did you choose a profession that is dominated by men?
I studied Mechanical Engineering in school and I wanted to practice what I studied. I didn’t want to end up as some of my colleagues in school who got employed in a commercial bank and not in an engineering firm. We all understand the problem of unemployment in Nigeria. I never bothered to look for a job anywhere. I dreamt of having my own business before setting up an automobile workshop. Besides, what I do is related to what I studied in school.
What were your parents’ reactions when you told them what you wanted to do?
Let me say that I grew up in a family where there is no gender disparity. We were all treated equally in my home, irrespective of gender. But the truth is that I did more of the physically demanding chores at home. I don’t really consider mechanical engineering to be a male-dominated profession. I just took interest in it because it was something I grew up with. I recall telling one of my neighbors that I wanted to continue to work with my hands even after graduating from school and he gave me the option of either studying Electrical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering. He said it was only in engineering courses that I would be able to work with my hands. I first did a certificate course in electrical installation, but when I wanted to go further, I couldn’t get admission to study it for a degree so I had to opt for mechanical engineering. In school, we didn’t have the opportunity to enroll for practical courses, but I thank God for the holidays. I used those periods to improve on my practical knowledge of mechanical engineering with the help of my father. Of course, my mother made fun of me most of the time. She often told me that I did not know what I was doing. My father taught me a lot of things, including many of the things I know today as a career woman. I was always with him. I was very close to him. As a youngster, I used to help him wash his car, fix his tires, etc. My brothers are more into the information technology stuff.
When did you set up Autolady Workshop?
Auto lady was incorporated in 2013. I graduated in 2010 ad completed National Youth Service in 2011. I needed a lot of money to set up my workshop. Eventually I was lucky to get a grant from the Federal Government. I can say that working as an automobile mechanic is my calling. Everything seems to be arranged by divine intervention. I was actually posted to Ogun State for national service. I was posted to a certain cocoa processing company but I was rejected and reposted to an automobile company in Sagamu. When I was there I saw what a standard workshop looked like and I dreamt of owning one like that. An opportunity for a grant came up much later. I applied for it and won. I had to register the business in 2013, while I trained at Daneland Automobile Company. I was also coming to Lagos from Sagamu to learn auto diagnosis with Auto Medics. You know, you need to learn the computer aspect of automobiles. I didn’t know about it at the time. I had to learn it. Being a graduate of mechanical engineering without any managerial experience didn’t augur well for me. I knew I needed it because I wanted to set up a company. I knew I could proffer solutions on cars, but I needed to learn more about the managerial aspect. As a start up, you need to limit the number of people you employ. So, I bought a franchise of Auto Medics. I became their managing partner in Abuja. I started with Auto Medics for that period and I was able to understand how the business works through our partnership. I mean the managerial aspect of the job, not as a technical person.
What professional body has helped you to advance your career?
I belong to the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN); Nigerian Association of Technologists in Engineering (NATE) and the Nigerian Institute of Mechanical Engineers (NIMECHE).
What challenges did you encounter when you were starting out as a female engineer?
It is normal for people to look at you as if you don’t know what you are doing. Even at school, we were just two females that studied mechanical engineering. The only thing I do is to manage the information I get from people. Sometimes, when I get distress calls from someone who needs our services, they will request to speak with a mechanic. I would tell them they can talk to me. Some of them think I am the receptionist, but I try to make them comfortable so they can open up to me. However, anytime I am stressed up, I will hand over the phone to a male mechanic at the workshop. Sometimes when I want to enter a client’s vehicle, he wants to know if I can drive. Most of them don’t want you to drive their cars. Funny enough, I can drive any car. My father taught me how to drive.
When you met your husband, was he initially discouraged that you were an automobile mechanic?
He was aware that I studied mechanical engineering in school. He tells other people that his wife is a mechanic. He wasn’t discouraged at all.
Would you encourage any of your female children to follow in your footsteps?
Funny enough, I have three daughters. I heard my little girl calling one of her sisters an engineer. Their toy broke down and the little one was saying her sister can fix the toy because she is an engineer. They already have the mindset that it is not only a male child that can do engineering courses. I will be glad if they take after my profession, but I will not force them. The only thing I will make sure they learn is to identify cars and their different parts. There are some tools I would ask them to bring and they can identify them already. They can identify some parts of the car, too. I have started teaching them. Even if they don’t want to end up as mechanics, they will be able to fix their cars themselves. We have been doing that for other women. They might be in the middle of nowhere and they should know some basic things and be able to fix their car tires themselves.
What is Autolady Inspire Foundation all about?
The whole concept is to increase female participation in the auto mobile industry because most of them need mentorship. They may love the job, but they don’t have anybody to guide them. We have trained over 30 women and some of them are working with us. Our goal at Autolady is to meet a woman at the point of entry into the workshop. We want to have about 80 per cent of female and 20 per cent of male automobile mechanics in our workshop. It is not as if we don’t need the men; we need them, but we want more women to work with us. Those that we train and we cannot employ, we try to get them employment in other companies. Mothers love to bring their female children to the garage. They are more confident that the place is owned and run by a woman. We have students on Industrial attachment and our foundation also gives out scholarships. We gave one to a young girl who helps her father to repair power generators. I was inspired to assist her because it brought out the memory of childhood for me. Those are the kind of things we want to do to keep them moving because if they don’t get encouraged, they might give up.
What about those who are not privileged to go to school? Would they have the opportunity to train with you?
I have some people like that. I even try to train them in school, aside the skills they would acquire in our workshop. As much as they need to have skills, it is also important that they go to school. I just pick a few that are interested in education. We train them to acquire skills, while they have an opportunity to go to school. I know that I cannot train all, but I ensure I do the little I can. One of the girls I trained, who is in school, wants to start running a radio programme on automobile repairs in her institution’s radio station. I wrote a proposal for her and she took it to her school. That is one of the things we are proud of. The girl child has the awareness of impacting others with the little she knows.
Are there other aspects of the job that you prefer your male staff to handle?
There is none, so far. Technology has made things easy for us a lot. The things we can’t handle as women will be handled by technology. I started when we had the latest equipment in technology. We use equipment to bring out engines, which are perhaps the most difficult job in auto repairs.
What is the best thing about being a lady mechanic?
We are unique. We are doing a job in a male-dominated industry. We are providing solutions to car users and also making impact in our society, which is very important. We don’t want to just have the knowledge; we also want to give back to the society.
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