04 | 03 | 2023
“We offer a great opportunity for female employment, especially in traditionally male-dominated areas”
Waleska Sevilla-Administrative Assistant in the Dominican Republic
Born in Nicaragua, Waleska Sevilla has been working for Ecoener in Central America for 12 years. She joined the Company in 2011 as an administrative assistant and is currently responsible for procurement at the Dominican Republic office. She claims to be fulfilling a professional dream and is very proud of the work carried out with the local communities, namely the recruitment of young single-parent mothers.
• When and how did your employment relationship with Ecoener start?
I am from Nicaragua and I am working in an industry that is not related to my professional career. In 2011, when I was a post-graduate student, I saw a job offer from Ecoener looking for an administrative assistant in Guatemala, so I applied for the offer and was lucky enough to be selected.
It was a momentous decision, since I decided to leave my job, my environment and my country to follow a dream.
• What did working for a multinational company like Ecoener mean to you on a professional level?
The truth is that it has been a fantastic experience. It was a real discovery to learn about the importance of renewable energies and be able to develop my professional career being a woman. I found a great opportunity for growth and to feel fulfilled in my career, something that would have been very difficult in another organisation.
• You are currently responsible for local procurement in projects in the Dominican Republic. What is your relationship with the local communities like?
When we arrived, the local community already knew the project, so they were interested in it. We met with the different social groups in a natural way and were very well received, which facilitated our integration in the municipality.
The facts prove that they currently consider us as neighbours and we maintain constant communication.
• How do you communicate with the neighbours living near the project?
We hold face-to-face meetings, even though we maintain constant telephone and email dialogue. So much so that, when I am away for personal reasons, some neighbours send me messages on my mobile phone to ask me how I am or when I will be returning. The communities are highly organised and this facilitates communication.
• Are there local particularities that Ecoener takes into account with local employees?
Yes, at first the social organisations would give us a list of personnel susceptible of being hired, but we soon discovered a very evident social reality. There is a large number of young women who are single-parent mothers of between three and six children who were unemployed.
After assessing the situation, we decided to offer them the opportunity of working on the construction of the plant and it was very well received.
At Ecoener we are very satisfied with the results, since we offer a great opportunity for female employment, especially in traditionally male-dominated fields, such as construction.
• What do you gain from these relationships established with the neighbours who live near the projects?
For me it is a very enriching experience at all levels. Being able to grow personally and professionally at community level, establishing sincere and honest collaborations is very gratifying.
It is beautiful relationship, so much so that we cannot help accepting their attentive invitation to have a coffee. We are neighbours and we all seek to cooperate and get along.