$1.9M in grants to support women in nontraditional occupations announced by US Labor Department

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a total of $1,938,182 in grants to help women through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program, an initiative designed to recruit, train and retain women in high-skill occupations in advanced manufacturing, transportation, energy, construction, information technology and other industries.

"Creating opportunities for women to gain the training and experience needed to compete for skilled jobs is critical to our nation's future," said Portia Wu, assistant secretary of labor for employment and training. "The federal funding announced today will go to organizations that are working to break down barriers for women in nontraditional fields and will help them enter Registered Apprenticeship programs that lead to long-term employment and middle class wages."

Grantees will use the funds awarded today to develop Regional Multi-State Technical Assistance Resource Centers that will support women entering into nontraditional occupations. Services will include:

• the development of connections between the centers and pre-apprenticeship programs in their area to prepare women for Registered Apprenticeship programs;
• orientations on creating a successful environment for women in apprenticeship; and
• assistance in the form of child care, transportation, support groups and other efforts to remove barriers to women.

The grants are jointly administered by the department's Women's Bureau and its Office of Apprenticeship. For information about the department's range of employment and training programs, visit http://www.doleta.gov.

Editor's note: A list of grantees, their locations and award amounts follows this news release.

Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Grants