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Tuesday, March 4, 2014
New Hampshire’s Building Trades Unions are looking for NH women who are seeking a good career with a future and who like working with their hands as well as their brain; who have a sense of adventure; and who like making good wages and benefits.
Building Pathways New Hampshire, a new pre-apprenticeship program designed to bring Granite State women into high-skill, high-wage construction careers is now seeking applicants for its upcoming training program slated to begin in mid-May. Building Pathways is a five week, hands-on education and training program in the building trades, with commitments to place qualified graduates into union apprenticeships.
Interested women MUST attend one of the four information sessions, which will be held on March 11, 13, 17, and 24 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Hall, 161 Londonderry Turnpike, Hookset.
Classes will start Monday, May 12, and end Friday, June 13, at the Carpenters Training Center in Manchester. Classes will be Monday – Friday, 7 am-3:30 pm, the typical construction day.
Students will get hands-on instruction in a number of trades including carpentry, electrical, sheetmetal, plumbing and more. They will earn their OSHA 10 and First Aid/CPR certificates. They will visit different training centers as well as an active construction site. The class is free of charge, but space is limited – only 13 women will be accepted.
“I’ve been a union carpenter for 25 years. I started my apprenticeship in 1989, and I have loved it. I’ve worked on heavy highway concrete jobs, and high-end finish jobs. I moved up the career ladder and worked for a contractor doing estimating, and now I work for the union. I’ve made good money, and have a real skill that no one can take from me. It’s been an incredibly rewarding career,” said Liz Skidmore, a long-time carpenter and now business manager of Carpenters Union Local 118.
“In most fields, women don’t get paid as much as men doing the same work. In the Granite State, women only get paid $0.77 to the dollar a man makes. I’m proud that in the union building trades, women get paid exactly the same, dollar for dollar, hour.”
Skidmore added, “Construction work isn’t for everyone – male or female; you have to want to work hard and work outside in all weather, but if you love the work, it’s a fantastic career. The health and retirement benefits are exceptional.”
The program is designed for female New Hampshire residents who are unemployed or underemployed, who are physically able to work in construction, are 18 or older, are authorized to work in the US, have a high school diploma or GED, are drug free and agree to drug testing, are on time, are interested in a construction career, can pass an eighth grade level English and math test and who have access to reliable transportation. Women of color and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.
The program is sponsored by the NH AFL-CIO, the NH State Building and Construction Trades Council, and the Carpenters Union. It is supported by federal Workforce Investment Act funds, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and program partners.
Anyone interested in applying should contact Joe Gallagher at 603-948-8161 or at buildingpathwaysnh@gmail.com. Program information can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/buildingpathwaysnh
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