Introducing the Western Resources Center for Women in Apprenticeship

Along with our partners Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Employment for Women (ANEW, based in Washington), and Oakland, California-based Tradeswomen, Inc., we are delighted to announce the launch of the new Western Resources Center for Women in Apprenticeship. The unveiling of our jointly developed technical assistance website marks the conclusion of two years’ efforts to create online resources for industry stakeholders and tradeswomen under the federal Women in Apprenticeship and Non-Traditional Occupations (WANTO) program.

The Western Resources Center (WRC) was created to serve three primary audiences in the Western US:   1) apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship program training providers, 2) women and girls interested in trades careers, and 3) current tradeswomen and female apprentices.

Resources for Training Providers:

• Guides and templates for improving and expanding outreach to and recruitment of women to trades careers
• Retention resources to help training providers support women’s long term success in apprenticeship
• Free downloadable pre-apprenticeship curriculum based on Oregon Tradeswomen’s successful Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class
• Creative Commons library of high quality, free images of real tradeswomen for use in recruitment materials
• Data collection guides and tracking plans

Information for Women & Girls Interested in Trades Careers:

• Guide to types of skilled trade careers
• A video gallery for women and girls to learn directly from tradeswomen what various trades careers entail
• An interactive map demonstrating where women can learn more about apprenticeship in each of the 13 Western states
• Links to tradeswomen’s organizations and social media communities

Resources for Tradeswomen:

• A Know-Your-Rights guide to tradeswomen’s legal rights on the job and in apprenticeship
• Links to tradeswomen’s communities and advocacy organizations
• Information about the annual Women Build Nations Conference and other opportunities for tradeswomen

We’re proud to officially debut this work and hope it will be as useful to our community as it was rewarding to create.  We welcome your feedback, constructive criticism, contributions, and most of all we welcome your help sharing this work with your friends and colleagues. Please help us get the word out about these resources. Bring some printouts to a meeting, share the page on Facebook, or send an email to your colleagues.

Thanks for supporting women in apprenticeship and we hope to hear from you about the new resources!