06.24.14

Durbin Announces More Than $642,000 In Federal Funding In Job Training For Women In High-Skill Positions Occupations

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has awarded a $642,686 grant through Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Program to the Chicago Women in Trades organization, which will use the federal funds to recruit, train and retain women in high-skill occupations such as manufacturing, transportation, energy, construction, and information technology.

 

“When women succeed, their families succeed, and America succeeds. Investing in job-training programs that target women entering growing, high-skilled industries will diversify and expand our nation’s workforce, and help grow our economy from the middle class out,” Durbin said.

 

Chicago Women in Trades will use the grant awarded today to develop a Regional Multi-State Technical Assistance Resource Center that will support women entering into nontraditional occupations. This new center will provide services including pre-apprenticeship programs and orientations for companies creating a successful environment for women. The funding will also help provide child care and transportation, which often serve as barriers to women entering these fields.

 

Chicago Women in Trades is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the number of women in high-skilled trades and other blue-collar jobs