The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $1.8 million in grants through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program, an initiative designed to recruit, train and retain women in high-skill occupations, such as advanced manufacturing, transportation, energy, construction and information technology.
“Helping women get the job skills they need to move up the ladder of opportunity is a top priority for the Labor Department,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “These grants will remove barriers for women entering nontraditional fields. Having half of our population underrepresented in the high-skill, high-paying jobs of the future isn’t good for the economic prosperity of our country.”
Approximately four grants will be awarded to community development organizations to create Regional Multi-State Technical Assistance Resource Centers. The centers will support women entering into nontraditional occupations. Services will include:
· The development of connections with pre-apprenticeship programs to prepare women for Registered Apprenticeship programs;
· Orientations on creating a successful environment for women in apprenticeship; and
· Support in the form of child care, transportation, support groups and other efforts to remove barriers to women succeeding in these industries.
Eligible applicants include community-based organizations capable of establishing technical assistance resources for Registered Apprenticeship programs to assist women to enter nontraditional occupations. The grants are jointly administered by the department’s Women’s Bureau and its Office of Apprenticeship.
The solicitation for grant applications will be available at http://www.grants.gov/. For information on the Department of Labor’s range of employment and training programs, visit http://www.doleta.gov/.
