Latest update April 17th, 2025 8:39 PM
Women in Bauxite…Vanessa Davis: Auto electrician, photographer, public relations officer
By Enid Joaquin
Vanessa Davis is not the type of woman that is content to sit behind a desk all day. In fact, here is a woman that could be found riding the waves of the Demerara River with other Bosai officials as they scrutinize the waters in the case of an oil spill, or trekking the sometimes harsh terrain of mined out mountainous areas in search of solutions to stem the perpetual flood of sand that washes into the river.
Wherever Bosai goes, Davis is usually there, as camera woman and PR person.
But there is more to this woman with the big camera, who proudly boasts of being ‘’in bauxite’’ for twenty six years!
So let’s take a walk down memory lane, with this incredible, hard working mother of three.
Davis attended the Wismar Christianburg Secondary school, then later the Linden Technical Institute, where she studied electrical installation and instrumentation.
As an apprentice at the institute, Davis was exposed to all areas within the company, which at the time was known as the Linmine Mining Enterprise. She was exposed to the workings of the steam power plant, the bauxite plant and the mining sites, and thus gained satisfactory knowledge of the company, from the onset.
n her role as Public Relations Officer
After graduating from the institute, Davis was afforded the opportunity to practice her skills in electrical installation at Heavy Duty Earth Moving Department (HEED), but later branched off as an auto electrician with Linmine. She subsequently went on to work with OMAI, then Bosai, after that entity took over management of the bauxite Industry.
”I started out with OMAI during the construction stage at the power plant and I played a major role in wiring most of the panels there, then I came up to the mining sites where I dealt with the auto part of it, dealing with the trucks and excavators; basically the caterpillar equipment.”
Questioned about her feelings working in a male dominated environment, Davis said that she has always felt comfortable working among her male colleagues.
“I’ve never been intimidated by my male colleagues. On the other hand, I’ve always found them to be very helpful and supportive”.
Photography and writing
Davis confessed that ever since she was a little girl she has always had a love affair with the camera.
This has not changed; rather, she can now be considered ‘married’ to the instrument. And this is not stretching things, because whenever and wherever you see this young woman, the first thing that you are likely to notice is her high-end camera.
Davis was contracted to do newsletters with Omai Bauxite, then later Bosai, where officials removed her from the electrical department and gave her a permanent position in the public relations department.
No more a man’s domain: Vanessa with colleague, Wainwright Bethune
Always with her camera: Vanessa traverses the Demerara River on a company tug to investigate a reported oil spill from a power plant
She said that during her years with the company, she was exposed to training in industrial relations, among other things.
Her present job entails preparing newsletters, press releases and engaging in community relations.
Her job also sometimes involves going into the ships that journey to the bauxite plant to load ore for export. She also conducts tours around the company and offers brief historical backgrounds to the various sectors within the industry. Another aspect of her job entails the planning and execution of various events hosted by the company.
Davis describes herself as a fearless, but reserved person. On a personal level, she enjoys travelling and spending quality time with family.
However don’t be surprised if you one day happen to see her minus camera, with spanner in hand, working on her car! After all she is a trained and qualified auto-electrician and boasts that she would do her own maintenance, whenever time permits.
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