OTI Graduates
OTI Alumnae Spotlight: Meet Vanessa Enos!
Vanessa Enos is both an accomplished artist and journey level tradeswoman! She grew up on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in NE Oregon and went to high school there, and after graduation, attended Blue Mountain Community College on a basketball scholarship. After a year in community college, Vanessa decided to move to Philadelphia, PA to attend Moore College of Art and Design to focus on illustration. While she loved art school, Vanessa made the decision to leave after her first year but, continued to live and work in the city for another four years. This was an important time in Vanessa’s life where she was discovering her strengths and passions, and realizing she didn’t want to stay in the retail and service industry jobs that kept her in the stressful cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.
After being on her own for five years, Vanessa moved back to the reservation to work as a Head Start teacher while also serving as a Wildland Firefighter for four seasons during her summers. Vanessa was drawn to this work because it was a passion of a close family friend who passed away and she wanted first hand experience of the work he loved so much. She candidly recalls how hard the training was and how many people doubted that she would make it due to being a woman and her small stature. But, with her now legendary grit and determination, Vanessa passed the test and proved herself as a Wildland Firefighter.
After her fourth summer of Wildland Firefighting, Vanessa craved a change of focus in her life as she was slipping into a hard-partying lifestyle that no longer served her. She moved to Portland to attend treatment at NARA Rehabilitation Center and found under the table construction work that helped her get back on her feet. Years before her move to Portland, Vanessa had received a call from her friend Feather Sams-Huesties, who frequently did career outreach for women and was a professional contact of Connie Ashbrook, OTI Executive Director. Feather told Vanessa about OTI’s Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class (TACC) and about what a great fit she would be for the program. Vanessa remembered this conversation and reached back out to Feather once she was settled in Portland to learn more about OTI and how she could get started.
When she is asked by people “why the laborers union?” Vanessa confidently replies, “If you want to be great you’ve got to start at the bottom”.
With encouragement from Feather, Vanessa enrolled in OTI’s Spring 2014 TACC class when she was 32 years old and was accepted into a laborers apprenticeship program before she even finished the program. When she is asked by people “why the laborers union?” Vanessa confidently replies, “If you want to be great you’ve got to start at the bottom”. She loves her trade for the variety of skills she is able to learn and the fast paced atmosphere that has allowed her to become a “jill of all trades”.
Today, three years after finishing OTI’s TACC program, Vanessa is a Journeyman Laborer with a soft spot for concrete. She candidly explains, “not many females do it (concrete work), but I love it!” Currently she’s working as the Vibrator Hand for Howard S. Wright on the old Grove Hotel Building in China Town, making $28.77 an hour. She is getting to do exactly what she hoped to be doing, which is climbing the columns and pouring the walls of the structures she works on. But, she had to work hard to get to this place.
In her past job, Vanessa noticed she was being passed over for more skilled roles on the job site, leaving her stuck with mucking concrete even after journeying out. She asked her foreman why she wasn’t able to do what the new guys were doing and if it had anything to do with the fact that she was a woman. One of her coworkers chimed in, stating, “Vanessa, we’re all thinking it but we can’t say it. Yes, it’s because you’re a girl”. This is not something that Vanessa was willing to accept and she advocated for herself to ensure she was learning the skills she needed to be successful in her field. Unfortunately, Vanessa was slowly being transitioned to cleaning crews and pulled from more and more skilled tasks on the job site.
“No matter how hard you try to prove yourself in the trades, when you want to do something you typically get a million excuses why you can’t. It’s called pigeon holing; they never let you go to your full potential”.
This can be a common experience for women in the trades, but luckily not all companies function this way. Vanessa called up her old supervisor at Howard S. Wright and let him know she wasn’t happy in her current job and laid out the terms of what she would need to switch to a different company. He enthusiastically accepted and Vanessa felt really empowered to have left a job that wasn’t offering her the opportunities she was seeking and successfully advocate for a job that would build her skill set.
While Vanessa loves her career, she finds that sexual harassment on the job site is still extremely prevalent, “there’s all sorts of harassment out there, it’s just about you setting firm boundaries and nipping it in the bud”. She notes that dealing with issues of harassment in such a direct way can be hard for new apprentices, but at the end of the day, it’s important to let your coworkers know that “I’m not here for your entertainment or for your pleasure. I’m not here for eye candy”. Apprentices are there to work and learn skills so they can advance and earn a living just like all the other workers.
When you ask Vanessa about her goals for the future she excitedly answers, “the sky’s the limit!” She would like to work her way through the ranks to become a foreman, noting that her union has a lot of plans for her and the leadership she has the aptitude to grow into. She would also like to work as a recruiter to get more women into the trades; especially focusing on outreach to Native American women on reservations.
While Vanessa is a bad-ass tradeswoman by day, she is also a talented artist with a piece of work in the Smithsonian! She wants to further nourish her passion for art and to continue to leave her mark on the world as an artist through her favored mediums of print-making and oil painting, while also advancing her trades and career building skills. We agree that the sky is the limit for Vanessa and we are excited to see all that she is bound to accomplish. Check out Vanessa in our Intro to Apprenticeship Video!
OTI Alumnae Spotlight: Meet Eleni Vournas!
Change seems to be a powerful constant in Eleni Vournas’ life. Originally from Honduras, she was adopted at a young age by a Greek/ American family and spent a few years on a ranch in Montana. When she was four years old, her family moved to Kalamata, Greece, where she spent the rest of her childhood and adolescence. It was in Greece where her passion for traveling was cemented. At twenty years old, after completing two years of computer programming college course work at the University of Piraeus, Eleni decided to move back to the United States to restart her degree. Four years later she graduated from University of Portland with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Psychology.
Following graduation, Eleni went to Haiti to volunteer for 16 months. While living there, she worked on many construction projects and quickly fell in love with carpentry. It was her goal to continue in the construction field when she returned to Portland, but to her dismay, she found it was nearly impossible for a young woman to find work in the field with the level of experience she had. Given this barrier, Eleni chose to pursue a career that would allow her to use her degree in Psychology. She began working at a local non-profit as a Pediatric Psychiatric Technician; she was paid $11.83 an hour at this job. Though Eleni enjoyed aspects of her job, she found herself getting burned out and still dreaming about a job in the construction field that would allow her to continue to fund her passion for traveling.
A couple years ago, when Eleni was 27 years old, her aunt sent her a newspaper article in The Oregonian about Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. (OTI). After learning about the pre-apprenticeship program offered by OTI she immediately enrolled and has never looked back! Eleni graduated from the Trades and Apprenticeships Career Class with perfect attendance, high praise from her instructors and peers, and was also asked to be the student speaker at her graduation. She was honored to receive this recognition and enthusiastically organized a flash mob with her peers – to the delight of the OTI instructors, friends and family in attendance!
Today, just two years after graduating from OTI’s pre-apprenticeship class, Eleni is 80% finished with her general carpenters apprenticeship and is now making $29.25 an hour — more than double the highest wage she made, with a college degree, before entering the trades. Eleni works for Hoffman Structures Inc. on an exciting new project at the campus of Oregon Health and Sciences University. Eleni has also taken advantage of the free trainings she is able to access though her membership in the Northwest Carpenters Union and has completed a rigging certification, which she finds to be really exciting work.
For Eleni, OTI opened the door to the Carpenters Union, provided her information about all of her options, and also answered all of the questions she was struggling to answer on her own before enrolling in OTI’s program. Eleni was also given access to a support group of strong female instructors and peers who share a passion for work in the trades. She still keeps in contact with many of them today.
If Eleni could give advice to other women who are considering work in the trades, she would tell them that it is definitely worth trying! She believes that the tangible skills she learned while in the trades as well as the things she has discovered about herself are priceless. She also feels really proud to be representing OTI on the job because people in the industry know and respect the advocacy work OTI does to get women started in high-skilled trades careers.
From a practical point of view, she also believes that graduating from the Trades and Apprenticeships Career Class helped her get hired faster due to the legacy that OTI holds in the Portland Community.
In the future, Eleni plans to complete her apprenticeship to become a journey level
carpenter and would eventually like to move up to a foreman position. But, Eleni’s passion for traveling and her inspiring ability to take risks has not been tamped out. Eleni dreams of also pursuing a degree in the medical field and coupling that knowledge with her existing construction skills in order to bring much needed services to third world countries. We applaud her ambition and vision! For now, Eleni is loving her life as a member of the NW Carpenters Union and finds the work she does to be thrilling.
OTI Alumnae Spotlight: Ash Jimenez
We were so excited to see OTI alumnae, Ash Jimenez, featured in the spring 2017 edition of Portland Community College Communities! In an article titled Made of Metal: Forging the path for a new generation of women welders, Ash talks about her path to a career in the trades industry and where she sees herself headed in the future.
Ash graduated our Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class in 2015 and was able to attend thanks to a generous scholarship provided by Metro. After graduation, Ash got a job with REACH Community Development, as a maintenance technician making $17/hour. While Ash enjoyed her job and the financial stability it offered, she knew she wanted to continue to hone her construction skills in order to advance her career and was particularly interested in learning more about welding.
The author of the article, Celeste Hamilton Dennis, writes
“When she (Ash) found out about a new scholarship opportunity to continue her studies at PCC, she knew she had to go for it. “I’ve never welded before. I didn’t know if I’d even like it, if I’d be good at it, or if I could ever do it”, she said. “Luckily I’m very stubborn so that helped.” Jimenez is the first recipient of a new PCC Foundation scholarship created by prominent community leader and educational champion Evelyn Crowell. The scholarship supports students who are underrepresented in the trades, including women and students of color. Jimenez couldn’t be prouder to carry on Evelyn’s legacy as a trailblazer for women. “I can’t disappoint all these people who are so proud of me,” she said.”
This scholarship enabled Ash to study welding at the PCC/Vigor Maritime Welding Center, where she attended night classes in order to learn TIG welding. When asked why she chose welding she said, “I love that welding is definitely not a woman’s world,” she said. “I like knowing I’m continuing to break through.”
Dennis also writes, “Much of Oregon’s aging welding workforce is expected to retire, leaving a gap for a new generation to step up and take their place” and graduates like Ash “are able to exit the program prepared for a living wage career as a welder whose work will literally create the steel bones of ships, barges, buildings, and bridges”.
“Jimenez’s ultimate dream after completing the program is to weld stainless steel fermentation tanks for brewers and winemakers”, what an awesome dream! In the meantime though, we were proud to hear that Ash’s hard work has paid off and she has accepted full time work with Steelab as a Welder and Fabricator.
Ash’s success has been earned by her hard work and determination, but it is also a great example of what can be achieved when women are provided the information, training and support needed to enter nontraditional careers.
You can find the full article online in the spring 2017 edition of Portland Community College Communities!
OTI Alumnae Spotlight: Meet Echo Dahl!
Just before the economy took a turn for the worse in 2009, Echo Dahl moved to Portland from Arizona, to put her bachelor’s degree in Architecture to work. Unfortunately, what she encountered was a lay-off followed by five years of searching for work. While unsuccessful in finding a job, she was determined to make it on her own, and as a way to make ends meet, she bartended part time and was able to persist by living off the tip money she earned as well as some public assistance.
Echo first heard about OTI at a job fair she attended but the timing was not right because she had just given birth to her son, Onyx. She never lost the thought of a career in the trades, though, and Echo returned to OTI a couple years later – after she made the decision to pursue a career as a carpenter. She was hopeful that she would make more money than the $37,000 per year she was once able to earn in architecture.
After graduating from OTI’s Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class in 2013, Echo knew she would need a car in order to get to and from job sites, she made the somewhat difficult decision to give up her apartment and move in with her mother so she could use her damage deposit and tax return to buy a car.
“OTI was instrumental in my new career”
Echo now works as a project engineer for Pavillion Construction. She supports the project manager and superintendent on job sites. She was able to reach her goal of earning $60,000 a year just four years after starting OTI’s pre-apprenticeship class. When asked how OTI has helped her get to where she is today she said, “OTI was instrumental in my new career. I worked as an architecture intern and never knew my current position existed until OTI sent me on my first interview. This role essentially mirrors my old position with the (architecture) firm but it’s MUCH more fun. I get to be on site, see the construction happen, and be involved. And it PAYS better!!”
Echo was totally inspired by the trainers at OTI and her fellow tradeswomen during the TAC program. When asked what advice she would have for other women who are considering work in the trades, she said, “I tell anyone who will listen that the trades are a much smarter route than college. My college education helped me get where I am today, but if I had pursued carpentry out of high school, I could have reached the same goal while making much more money along the way and without the 50k in debt that will forever be my albatross.”
“I went from an unemployed single mom living in an apartment just barely making it to a successful mom with a new house and a great job. I’ve finally reached all my big goals after many years of struggling. OTI made that happen.”
Echo’s future career aspirations include becoming a superintendent or project manager. She is thankful for finding OTI during a time in her life when she was searching for a new path. In her own words, “I went from an unemployed single mom living in an apartment just barely making it to a successful mom with a new house and a great job. I’ve finally reached all my big goals after many years of struggling. OTI made that happen.”
OTI Alumnae Spotlight: Meet Brooklyn Payne
“OTI gave me the tools, but I did the work!” – Brooklyn Payne
Brooklyn, third from the left, at the 2016 annual OTI Women in Trades Career Fair
Brooklyn grew up in Spokane, Washington. She has a fantastic adventurous spirit that led her to travel around the United States after high school as well as living in Costa Rica for an extended amount of time. After her travels, she moved to Portland to live near her mother and sister who had relocated to the Rose City while she while she was traveling.
Before starting Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.’s (OTI) Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class (TACC), Brooklyn spent 12 years working as a bartender without benefits like health insurance that are a common perk in other careers. The highest hourly wage she made in the food and beverage industry was $9.75 an hour. Brooklyn also took college courses and accrued considerable student debt, but was unable to find the hands-on education she craved.
As Brooklyn entered into her 30’s she wanted a change: she recognized that bartending was a dead end for her and would not provide her with the means to retire some day. She heard about OTI from a friend who had also gone through the TACC program, and kept it in her mind. One day in 2014, she made the decision to commit to her future and officially enrolled in OTI’s pre-apprenticeship training program – she was 34 years old.
“OTI was pivotal for me, and has everything to do with where I am today.”
Just two years later, Brooklyn is now working for Hoffman Structures Inc. as an apprentice carpenter on an exciting new project for Oregon Health and Sciences University. Brooklyn is 80% through her apprenticeship and is currently making $29.75 per hour! She feels great leaving work every day knowing that she is able to take care of herself and that she earned it with hard work and dedication. When asked how OTI helped her get where she is today, she said, “OTI was pivotal for me, and has everything to do with where I am today.” OTI gave her tangible skills, unconditional support, and the confidence to find a career in a field she would not have considered otherwise. But, Brooklyn also recognizes that her own internal drive and motivation to invest in her future played an important role in where she is today: “OTI gave me the tools, but I did the work!”.
“OTI gave me the tools, but I did the work!”.
When asked what advice she would give to other women considering a career in the trades, she enthusiastically replied, “You can do it! It is possible!” She also wisely advised women to keep in mind that although female workers in the trades are still relatively uncommon, any doubts that might be experienced about entering this industry are no different from doubts that would be felt in pursuing any career or career transition. She loves being a woman on the construction site, and has found a sisterhood of support though the local carpenters union.
Future goals for Brooklyn include journeying out as a carpenter, becoming a foreman, and eventually working her way up to superintendent and she has unwavering confidence in her abilities to achieve these goals.
You’re Invited to OTI’s Fall 2016 TACC Graduation!
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. cordially invites you to attend the Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class Graduation and celebrate our most recent cohort of pre-apprenticeship graduates!
Date:
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Time:
5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Location:
PCC Metro Workforce Training Center
The Auditorium
5600 NE 42nd Avenue
Portland OR 97218
Click for the street address on Google Maps
Light appetizers & cake will be served
Fall 2016 Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class Graduates
Jay Broady
Lyssa Brosig
Chelsey Callaghan
Sabrina Carter
Dana Dee
Jinnie Freeman
Marcie Harris
Niki J Johnson
Alana Kansaku-Sarmiento
Kalise Kenyon
Tiffany Latham
Michelle Lifvendahl
Torre McGee
Ashley Magnus
Sasha Melendez
Shannon Olsen-Horchy
Liv Pollock
Linda Salholm
Becca Schulze
Shanti Speer
I.O. Stiles
Ginsy Stone
Brittany West
Funding for our program is provided by:
Autzen Foundation, Bank of America, Collins Foundation, Construction Apprenticeship & Workforce Solutions, Inc. (CAWS), DeArmond Public Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, IBEW Local 48, Joseph Weston Foundation, Multnomah County, Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Department of Transportation, Pacific Power Foundation, Peterson Foundation, Portland Development Commission’s Economic Opportunity Program, Portland Parks and Recreation, Samuel Johnson Foundation, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, The TJX Foundation, Trio Foundation of St. Louis, The Portland Water Bureau and Hoffman Construction through the Community Benefit Agreement, Women’s Bureau–U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Foundation of Oregon, Worksystems, Inc., industry donations, and individual tradeswomen and supporters. Thank you!!
Aisha Winters Awarded the Live Your Dream Scholarship!
After Aish
a Winters graduated from OTI’s Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class (TACC) in the summer of 2015, she was determined to start into an official apprenticeship. She was out of work for a few months, but had some money in savings to help make ends meet while she pursued her goal of apprenticeship.
OTI Career Counselor, April Robbins, connected Aisha to Marianne Carley at the Area 1 JATC in Clackamas – an open shop school offering apprenticeship training in plumbing, sign making, painting, and the electrical trade. Marianne was happy to meet Aisha and connected her for a for job shadowing opportunity at Mr. Rooter. During her very first ride along, Aisha knew she liked the opportunity, and was thrilled when they asked her if she was interested in getting hiring on! It was only a couple of weeks later and she was accepted into the plumber’s apprenticeship!
As excited as Aisha was for the opportunity, she was also feeling nervous about the financial obligation. She didn’t realize in the beginning that she would be responsible for paying her own tuition. She had used most of her savings over the summer, and she also needed money to pay for daycare for her child.
Compounding the situation, Aisha had been on the Oregon health plan so that her daughters would have health insurance, but she cancelled the insurance after she was hired by Mr. Rooter, only to learn that there was a trial period before she would be eligible to receive her new health insurance benefits. Like many Oregon renters, her rent went up. And further, she incurred some transportation issues when her truck started having some mechanical issues. It was a huge financial outlay for Aisha when she was just in the beginning of her new career. She was scared for a while, but was able to borrow some money from family to get her through this stressful time.
Not too long after getting over these initial hurdles, a girlfriend contacted her through Facebook to let her know about the Soroptimist “Live Your Dream Awards”. Aisha met all 15 qualifications to apply, but she was a bit intimidated by the process.
She didn’t let her fear stop her though, and wrote amazing letter to apply for the $1,000 grant. Three people wrote letters of reference for her, including the owner of Mr. Rooter
A short time later, foundation member Pam Banning with Soroptimist International of Lake Oswego/West Linn called her to let her know she would be awarded with a $1,000 check on March 8, 2016 which was also International Women’s Day.
Because Aisha was chosen as the first place winner, her application will go to the regional level where she will be considered for a $5,000 scholarship. If she were to win the regional competition, then she has the potential to win a national prize of $10,000.
All of us at OTI are so incredibly proud of Aisha for all she has accomplished and will be crossing our fingers that she goes on to win these additional scholarship prizes.
Way to go, Aisha!
Oregon AFL-CIO’s Labor Candidate School: Jen Netherwood
Jen receives her certification for successfully completing Labor Candidate School
The incredible Jen Netherwood is at it again! On Saturday March 12, 2016 she graduated from the Oregon AFL-CIO’s Labor Candidate School(OLCS). The goal of OLCS is to increase the representation of union members in elected office in Oregon who will pass policies that uplift and support the middle class. The commitment to this program includes several months of training on how to run a successful campaign and fundraising for their own tuition! This does not mean the participant can just fund their own tuition, they are required to go out into their communities and raise the money to participate.
Jen began her journey in advocacy by first standing up for women’s rights to be in non-traditional environments and workplaces through coaching women’s soccer and teaching OTI’s Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class. In 2014, Jen attended Construction Equity Day with students from OTI, Constructing Hope, and Portland Youth Builders. It was there in Salem when she realized she could create relationships with her legislators. This started a long process of Jen fighting for a pre-apprenticeship program at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.
OTI is very proud and honored to be affiliated with this incredible woman. Please join us in congratulating her on her hard work and look forward to her run for office. One day, she may be our governor! (All of the graduates had to give a speech as if they were currently running for office and Jen chose governor.)
Congratulations Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class Graduates!
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. cordially invites you to attend our Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class Graduation!
Date:
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Time:
5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Location:
The Auditorium
PCC Metro Workforce Training Center
5600 NE 42nd Avenue
Portland OR 97218
Click for the street address on Google Maps
Light appetizers & cake will be served
Fall 2015 TACC Graduates and Their Trade Goal
Cherokee Andrade – Tree Trimmer
Ashley Cooper – Sheet Metal Worker
Debra Crowley – Carpenter
Ali Foster – Carpenter
Felicity “Fuzz” Jackson – Carpenter
Hannah Johnsen – Carpenter
Bre Lackey – Sheet Metal Worker
Alex Mays – Electrician
Jamie Metcalf – Environmental Remediation
Rachel Meyer – Tree Trimmer
Carlee Ogle – Carpenter
Sara Quinn – Electrician
Yolanda Sandoval – Electrician
Maija Schurter – Carpenter
Misty Sedotal – Carpenter
Mercy Shammah – Carpenter
Crystal Siltman – Sheet Metal Worker
Rose Swartz – Carpenter
Kelsey Wollam – Pile Driver
Funding for our program is provided by:
Advantis GROW Community Fund, Bank of America, The Boeing Company, Construction Apprenticeship & Workforce Solutions, Inc. (CAWS), the Environmental Protection Agency, H.W. Irwin and D.C.H. Irwin Foundation, Hoover Family Foundation, Kaiser Permanente Community Fund at the Northwest Health Foundation, Multnomah Bar Foundation Multnomah County, Oregon Department of Transportation, Pacific Power Foundation, Penney Family Fund, a member of The Common Counsel Foundation, the Portland Development Commission’s Economic Opportunity Program, Stimson-Miller Foundation, The TJX Foundation, U.S. Bank, The Portland Water Bureau and Hoffman Construction through the Community Benefit Agreement, Wells Fargo, Women’s Bureau–U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Foundation of Oregon, Worksystems, Inc., industry donations, and individual tradeswomen and supporters.
How To: Facebook Campaign for Oregon Women in Apprenticeship Day
It’s great that you are as excited as we are about National Women in Apprenticeship Day, Thursday November 5, 2015. Thank you for joining us to make the presence of women in apprenticeship known far and wide. We all know that apprenticeship itself is a very misunderstood concept and within that system, women are unseen. In order to bring this issue to the forefront, we have some tips for a Facebook post to contribute to the campaign and a national conversation. The tips below will give you a chance to let your friends and family know what you do, while connecting to other tradeswomen to create a larger impact!
Anatomy of the Facebook Campaign Post:
In order for you post to have the most effect, make sure that you specify for these posts to be ‘public’.
The Photo:
For this campaign, let’s show the world that women in apprenticeship work! Include a photo (or a video if you have it) of yourself on a job site or doing trades work. Here are some samples to inspire you!
The Text:
You should talk about your experience, your life, your apprenticeship. You want to let your networks know what you do and what that means to you! So, we aren’t crafting your post for you. However, here are some tidbits we are trying to highlight:
- Announce National Women in Apprenticeship Day, 11/5/15
- Explain that apprenticeship means you get an education and paid on the job training!
- Talk about getting a life-long career, not just a job
- Share your story, about how apprenticeship changed your life
- Let folks know, that women only comprise 3% of the trades, nationally
- You can support women in apprenticeship with a donation to your local tradeswomen organization, like Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. Donors who give a minimum of $10, today, will be eligible to be chosen to win 4 lower-level tickets to a Trailblazers game PLUS a signed jersey from a starter! Learn more at www.tradeswomen.net/donate.
The ‘Hashtag’ (or the connection to a larger campaign!):
Hashtags are an important and essential part of creating a Facebook campaign. When you tag organizations or include hashtags, the connected flurry of activity means that those posts get seen more frequently. Then more people share your post, and the impact grows! So, don’t forget to include some hashtags.
- Essential Hashtags:
- @OregonTradeswomenInc (In order to do this, make sure you already like our Facebook Page.)
- @TradeswomenTaskforce
- #WomenInApprenticeship
- Hashtags for Extra Lift:
- #Tradeswomen
- #NAW2015
- #GiveGuide
- #20PercentIn2020
- Hashtags to Bring Your Union/Employer into the Circle:
- Like your employer or local union and use – @EmployerFacebookAccountName
- Like your international union and use – @InternationalUnionFacebookAccountName
Take it to the next level!
Add the Twibbon look to your Facebook and/or Twitter Account:
Over the past couple of months, you may have seen people change their profile pictures to have an overlay image. Maybe it was for Planned Parenthood with a pink picture that said “#StandwithPP” or Domestic Violence Awareness with a purple tint and a ribbon. Well, we now have a Twibbon for Women in Apprenticeship! It is a white hardhat that will go over the top of your current profile picture on either Facebook or Twitter. To use this, go to Twibbon and search “Women in Apprenticeship”. Click on the link and allow it to access your Facebook or Twitter and the website will take care of the rest for you!
Bring the Conversation to Twitter:
For those of you who are active on Twitter already you can craft a short post ( I am a woman in apprenticeship). Here are some rough ideas for extra hashtags that you could use on twitter (in addition to those above!):
Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, Oregon Apprenticeship and Training Division
USDOL, US Women’s Bureau, Labor Secretary Perez
Together, we can use National Women in Apprenticeship Day to really bring tradeswomen to the forefront!