Job Opportunity at Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD)

TRAINING COORDINATOR - WANTO
Education, Training and Youth Services - LearningWorks

Coordinate the operation of construction-related adult training programs as well as expand and develop new skill training services. Supervise the maintenance of academic records and reporting requirements for funding sources. Supervise direct service staff. Develop, plan and manage construction skill training programs and services. Coordinate and develop curriculum, ensure that curriculum goals are met, and work with teachers on the development of schedules and lesson plans. Ensure that services are customer centered and timely. Hire, train, support and manage instructors, case managers, and other staff responsible for delivering training services. Supervise the maintenance of all intake, case management, and job placements of students. Monitor unit performance and implement changes necessary to ensure high quality service, positive customer satisfaction and desired outcome. Establish strategic partnerships with key peers in construction related organizations and employment and training organizations. Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services or a related field, and three to five years of supervisory experience with demonstrated ability to inspire, educate and lead staff required. Must have proven experience in operating adult training programs. Excellent creative and entrepreneurial talents, along with a willingness to take risks and develop new initiatives required. Must have experience in working with a diverse customer base, knowledge of Boston neighborhoods, and a familiarity with local construction businesses. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, as well as strong organizational, planning and time management skills required. Must be able to work sensitively and effectively with individuals of diverse educational, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Please note: this position is part-time for 17.5 hours per week and is temporary through June 30, 2014. Continued employment is contingent upon receipt of additional funding.

Visit the ABCD website for more information and instructions on how to apply.

US Department of Labor announces $300,000 grant to Action for Boston Community Development Inc. to support women in nontraditional occupations

WASHINGTON ‒ Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced awards of $1.8 million in grants to consortia in six states through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program.  Among the grantees is Action for Boston Community Development Inc. in Boston, Mass., which will receive $300,000.

“Apprenticeship programs are effective pipelines into growing industries. But too often, these programs are not as accessible to women. The federal grants announced today will better connect women with apprenticeships, helping them to gain skills in fields that offer long-term career opportunities,” said Secretary Solis. 

The grants will support innovative projects that improve the recruitment, hiring, training, employment and retention of women in apprenticeships in industries such as advanced manufacturing, transportation and construction. Within these industries, the grants will fund activities focused on three occupational areas: existing occupations expected to experience primarily an increase in employment demand, existing occupations with significant changes to work and worker requirements, and new and emerging green occupations.

The six grantees are community-based organizations, each of which has formed a consortium with a local Workforce Investment Area and at least one Registered Apprenticeship program sponsor. This consortium-based approach is intended to ensure that women served by WANTO grants have access to a range of supportive services and training, as well as to specific nontraditional employment opportunities.

Each grantee will be required to place at least 50 participants annually and at least 100 participants over the life of the two-year grant into a Registered Apprenticeship program. 

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

Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Grants

Grantee City    State   Funding Amount 
Action for Boston Community Development Inc.    Boston  Mass.   $300,000       
Chicago Women in Trades Chicago Ill.    $300,000       
Goodwill of North Georgia  Inc. Atlanta Ga.     $300,000       
Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. Portland        Ore.    $300,000       
West Virginia Women Work        Morgantown      W.Va.   $300,000       
Women In Non Traditional Employment Roles       Los Angeles     Calif.  $300,000       
Total   $1,800,000     

# # #

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille or CD from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755. 

WANTO Grant Application: Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant Applications for Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO)

Retrieved from: http://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/wanto_sga_dfa_py_11_10.pdf


Submit your grant application today!

Funding Opportunity Number:  SGA/DFA PY-11-10
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number:  17.201

Key Dates: The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is May 21,
2012.  Applications must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Addresses: Mailed applications must be addressed to the U.S. Department of Labor,
Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management, Attention:  Latifa
Jeter, Grant Officer, Reference SGA/DFA PY 11-10, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room
N4716, Washington, DC 20210.  For complete application and submission information, 
including online application instructions, please refer to section IV.

Summary:
The Women’s Bureau (WB) and the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) Office
of Apprenticeship (OA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, or the Department), announces the
availability of approximately
$1,800,000 in grant funds authorized under the WANTO Act of 1992, Public Law 102-530, 29
USC 2501 et seq.  To that end, the OA and WB plan to disburse Program Year (PY) 2011 and
2012 WANTO grant funds to six consortia made up of a community-based organization (CBO),
a Local Workforce Investment Area (LWIA) established under the Workforce Investment Act
(WIA) and a registered apprenticeship program (RAP) sponsor.  Each consortium will conduct
innovative projects to improve outreach, recruitment, hiring, training, employment, and retention
of women in apprenticeships in the nontraditional occupations, as defined in Section IX of this
solicitation.

Each CBO, LWIA and RAP consortium must consist of a minimum of  three
components:  1) a CBO (which may be a faith-based organization (FBO)) that has demonstrated
experience in providing women with job-training services; 2) a LWIA (which includes a
representative of the local government responsible for administering workforce programs under
WIA or Workforce Investment Board); and (3) a RAP sponsor (which can be an individual
employer, association of employers, or an apprenticeship committee which includes joint and
non-joint committees designated by the sponsor to administer and operate an apprenticeship
program and in whose name the apprenticeship program is registered or approved).  It is
anticipated that awards will be in the amount of up to $300,000 over the two-year grant period.
The grants will be awarded in June 2012 and funded over a two-year period

Complete information is available at http://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/wanto_sga_dfa_py_11_10.pdf

Hire a Woman: Recruiting Women for your Workforce, a guide published by Tradeswomen, Inc.

Tradeswomen, Inc. publication for employers, a guide to hiring women in construction

Retrieved from http://www.tradeswomen.org/PDFs/HireAWoman-recruit.pdf

Hire a woman: Recruiting women for your workforce

Why you want to …

Good workers are in short supply

■ For every four people who leave the trades,
through retirement or otherwise, the apprenticeship
programs supply only one new person to enter
the trades.

■ The average age of today’s construction worker is
39 years old.


■ The Department of Labor estimates that the
construction industry will need to hire about
240,000 new workers each year for the next five
years. But only about 150,000 new workers will
come into the trades, creating a continuing
shortage of skilled workers.

■ If you're a prime or subcontractor working on a
federally-funded project, 6.9% of your workforce
in each craft must be female.



Women—

the construction workforce of the future

You may have enough good workers today,
but what about three, five, ten years from now?

■ The worker shortage in the construction industry
creates opportunities for women to enter the field.

■ As more women enter the trades, recruitment of
women will become increasingly easier. However,
successful recruitment of women involves
different outreach strategies than are currently
being utilized.

■ Many women already do physical jobs that
require lifting, coordination, and a serious work
ethic such as hospital work, restaurant work and
child care. Women working in these low-paid
jobs could be ideal recruits for high wage, high
skilled construction careers.

■ Women are the largest untapped resource for the
construction industry. While women can benefit
from entering construction careers, the industry
also benefits by expanding its recruitment pool
to include the other 50% of the population


How you can …

Successful strategies for

recruiting women

■ Pre-apprenticeship grads are great recruits:
Many programs exist (sometimes known as 
“pre-apprenticeship programs”) that introduce
potential construction workers to the tools and to
the different trades. Often these programs offer
“soft” skills training, information about health
and safety, and explain how apprenticeship
works. Graduates of these programs are proven to
be more successful apprentices—better prepared
for the rigors of the trade. Consider recruiting
female graduates of these programs as your
newest apprentices.





■ Use current tradeswomen as role models:
Most people enter the trades because they have 
a relative or neighbor who tells them about the
opportunity. But most of these role models are
men; young women don’t see other women in
these positions to serve as an example for
themselves. If you attend career fairs, bring
female employees who work with the tools to
give demonstrations of their craft and talk about
the work. If you have a website or produce
printed materials, be sure to include images of
tradeswomen. Contact BC3 for Women CAN Build
California recruitment posters and brochures.


■ Basic skills and test preparation: Find a
community partner to help those you recruit
successfully meet your testing and physical
requirements—this may be a pre-apprenticeship
program, community college, or vocational
program. Contact Tradeswomen, Inc. or WINTER
for more ideas


Resources



Contact Tradeswomen, Inc. and WINTER to assist you
with more ideas and resources for recruiting and
retaining women in skilled trades careers.
Tradeswomen, Inc.


www.tradeswomen.org • 510-891-8773 x313
2485 West 14th St. • Oakland CA 94607
Tradeswomen, Inc. has been a support and
advocacy organization for women who work in the
trades since 1979. With workshops, conferences
and policy initiatives, Tradeswomen, Inc. strives
to help women in blue-collar jobs and to increase
and maintain the numbers of women in nontraditional careers.


Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles
(WINTER)
www.winterbuild.org • 562-570-3764
P.O. Box 90511 • Long Beach, CA 90809
Dedicated to recruiting, training, and placing
women in apprenticeships and non-traditional
jobs, WINTER operates a charter school to help
women complete their high school credentials,
holds monthly orientations about the trades, and
is designated a technical assistance provider by
the Office of Apprenticeship Training, Employer
and Labor Services (OATELS).


Building California Construction Careers (BC3)
www.BuildingC3.com • 916-443-3302
1225 8th Street, Suite 395 • Sacramento, CA 95814


This project of the State Building and Construction
Trades Council is designed to help young people
learn about opportunities in the construction
trades, and see this career as an outstanding
alternative to a four-year degree.  Their website
includes a list of recommended preapprenticeship programs in California.




The original  brochure was made possible by the Women's Bureau, 
U.S. Department of Labor, under WANTO Grant No. E-9-4-2-0123.