Department of Labor awards $5M to train, expand pathways for women for Registered Apprenticeships, nontraditional occupations

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $5 million to organizations in seven states to increase the numbers of women in Registered Apprenticeship programs and help connect them with good-paying careers in nontraditional occupations where the Biden-Harris administration’s historic infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy investments are creating sharp job increases. 

The announcement of the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants was made at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington. Department leaders joined AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to showcase the work of the labor organization’s Working for America Institute in Birmingham, Alabama. The institute received a $713,892 grant to support its pre-apprenticeship program’s effort to recruit women of color in the region.

“To fulfill the promise of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and to rebuild the nation’s economy from the middle out and the bottom up, we can’t afford to leave any talent untapped,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Today, we announced grants that will support organizations that are training women for good-paying jobs — including union jobs — while ensuring an equitable workforce development system that helps to provide a talent pipeline for employers in critical sectors.”  

This is the department’s largest award of WANTO grants, a 47 percent increase from 2022. 

“Women make up nearly half of the nation’s workforce but remain vastly underrepresented in industries like construction, which needs more skilled workers needed to fill these high-paying jobs,” said Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. “The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program prepares women for promising careers and provides the technical assistance to employers and unions to recruit and retain more women effectively.” 

The WANTO program seeks to increase employment of women in apprenticeships and nontraditional occupations by supporting community-based organizations that develop pre-apprenticeship programs to help women succeed in industries where they are typically underrepresented. These industries include construction, advanced manufacturing, energy, technology and transportation. A portion of the grants awarded can be used to provide participants with support services such as child care, transportation, tuition and work-related gear. 

Administered by the department’s Women’s Bureau and Employment and Training Administration, the 2023 WANTO grants will fund training programs in Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington state. The WANTO grant recipients are as follows: