First Female Graduate of Technicians for the Caribbean

Mma-Tumelo Soesman. Photo by Gregory Rijssen.

Mma-Tumelo Soesman, from Suriname, is the first woman in the Caribbean who has completed the free online Caterpillar technician training. Not only is she the first woman, she also did it in style by completing the course in eight days. The Technician for the Caribbean program is designed to be completed during a three-month period. 

Soesman, a teacher at Unasat, has always had a preference for heavy equipment. She registered in February 2019. “But I was busy after that. I had to work on my graduation project and was inactive for two months. I started the training again on May 7 and finished it on May 15,” she says. Without Soesman knowing it, she has set an unprecedented record.

The training was more than she had hoped. “The training was instructive. I wanted to learn more about machines and learned the difference between a gasoline engine and a diesel engine. I also learned a lot about safety. The training has further fueled my love for heavy equipment and I now want to follow the in-depth courses," says the Bachelor of Science in Geoscience. 

Her message to female students: “Don't give up, finish the training and prove that you can do what a man can do. Technical work is not only reserved for men."

Text and photo by Gregory Rijssen, Communication officer of SURMAC.