Thank you, Bank of America!

Oregon Tradeswomen BofA - Main (full group)WEB550

 

Women in Metals and Manufacturing

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has named Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. (OTI) as a 2015 Neighborhood Builder! OTI is being recognized for our efforts in workforce development. The Neighborhood Builders is currently marking its 11th year as the largest investment in nonprofit leadership development and organizational longevity. Locally, through Neighborhood Builders, Bank of America has invested $3.8 million and supported 38 emerging leaders at 19 Portland-area nonprofit organizations.

With the help of this funding from Bank of America, OTI will add a manufacturing workforce development program to help women and girls learn about, prepare for, and enter manufacturing careers. The program will build upon our successful pre-apprenticeship program that prepares 80 women a year for industry careers and educates more than 1,200 girls annually about their future opportunities in the trades. OTI will work with a variety of manufacturing industry partners to adopt or create a manufacturing-focused curriculum to prepare women for successful manufacturing careers.

Two-thirds of the manufacturing sector’s jobs require less than an associate’s degree. Jobs such as welder, machinist, millwright, computer-controlled machine operator, inspector, production and warehouse worker are all projected to have a high number of openings in the next few years. In fact, the manufacturing industry in the Portland metro area alone boasts more than 87,000 jobs with a payroll close to $7 million.

Please watch the announcement on AM Northwest!

Guest Blog: Jen Netherwood

Here at Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc., we are thrilled to welcome Jen Netherwood as a guest blogger! Not only is Jen one of our Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class grads but she is also an instructor for current OTI classes, actively involved as a volunteer, and tirelessly works for access for women in the trades.  We are happy to announce that Jen is the January winner of Irwin Tools’ “Nominate  A Tradesman” competition.

Over the past couple of months, tradeswomen across the nation have been advocating for Irwin to change their logo and the title of their competition. We think tradeswomen should be recognized for all of their contributions to the community as well! Join us, and nominate your own tradeswomen today.

In the meantime, lets turn it over to Jen to hear more about her amazing story and the work she is doing for women at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.

Coffee-Creek-2012-600x441

For women that enter the trades, becoming a Tradeswomen has meaning far beyond the tools and skills. From simply walking onto a job-site where we are 1 of 100 workers, to standing up for our rights in court, whether we set out to do it or not, we are breaking down stereotypes and changing the face of construction. I set out to do it, to change how society defines a construction worker. I have spent my entire life in male dominated professions. First in sports, now as a Journey level carpenter, I have looked for ways I could contribute to breaking down old stereotypes.

I completed the OTI TAC Class in 2005 and went on to complete the apprenticeship program at the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute as one of about 4 women. It made a huge difference to me knowing that although I was in the minority, women had gone before me and at least put some gravel down on the path! I stayed involved with OTI and eventually began teaching for TAC and Building Girls. Although I really didn’t know what my path was going to be, it was clear to me that the heart of my passion for carpentry was in my desire to play a role in inspiring other women to become Tradeswomen.

In the summer of 2012 that path opened up. OTI recommended me for a position teaching a new pre-apprenticeship program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, the only women’s prison in Oregon. I had never so much as been inside a jail and what followed was life changing for me.

With about 12 hours of training, a radio, and the knowledge that I wasn’t a really good hostage candidate, I started the program with 22 women, skill saws, hammers and utility knifes. What I observed was a group of motivated women who were willing to challenge themselves and each other to do something they had never thought they could (a couple women even said they really didn’t believe women could go into the trades).

From October 2012 to August 2013 40 women completed the BOLI certified pre-apprenticeship program at Coffee Creek. The most amazing thing I saw happen was the sense of pride that grew within so many of the women. They began to see that they could lift 3/4″ plywood, handle a circular saw, roof a house, and install Sheetrock. They started to tell me about conversations they had with their kids, how impressed their kids were that their moms knew how to build a saw horse and use a table saw.

One woman told me that her mom sent her an article about how she was one of the first female low voltage electricians for Pac Bell. This inmate had not spoken to her mom in years and they connected through her participation in the pre-apprenticeship class. Now that inmate is a material handler for IBEW and completing the steps to becoming an apprentice.

Another woman told me her 17 year old son was so inspired by her that he decided to enter the carpenters’ job core program. She was able to send him the tool belt she earned at Coffee Creek to get him started. She has worked with the courts while she’s still at Coffee Creek to develop a payment plan to get her driver’s license back when she paroles so she can pursue a career as an Ironworker.

Through experiences with inmates like these my grey area for what I thought I thought about incarcerated adults, our legal system, and our prison system grew exponentially in the 13 months I was employed.

One of the most profound conversations I had with the women went like this:

Inmate: Ms. Netherwood you treat us different.
Me: What do you mean?
Inmate: You treat us like human beings.
Me: Well aren’t you?

Unfortunately the company that I worked for decided to cancel the program in August of 2013, despite its impact on the women and clear potential for a path to family wage jobs. In 2014, 75 women who graduated from Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. averaged a starting wage of $15.18 per hour. Another 13 graduates moved from their first job to apprenticeship, raising their average to $19.02 per hour.

I have been working with Portland Community College Corrections Education since August of 2013 to build a brand new pre-apprenticeship program for Coffee Creek because I whole heartily believe that access to the skills and knowledge about how to become a Tradeswomen and earn a family living wage will be life changing for the women who complete the program.

The Department of Corrections and Portland Community College will negotiate that contract this month, March 2015. I encourage you to contact your Representatives and Senators to tell them the positive impact that access to pre-apprenticeship training for women is having. More specifically, you can have an even greater impact if you write to the Public Safety Subcommittee of Ways and Means (the budget committee for the Department of Corrections).

How to Write a Letter to your Legislators

For the incarcerated women at Coffee Creek, a construction trades pre-apprenticeship program can set them on a path to a family wage career, increased self-esteem, a positive contribution to society, a tangible connection to their family, and a chance to break the cycle of incarceration. Whether we set out to do it or not, whether we simply show up and work hard or we go before the Oregon legislature and speak up about how things need to change, we really are changing the world. Or, at the very least, how Oregon defines a Tradeswoman.

For Tradeswomen past, present, and future, never underestimate your impact!

Worker to Leader: Construction Leadership

ODOTBOLI Logo BW

Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. is very grateful to the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for supporting activities that increase the retention of diverse women and men of color in the trades.  We are excited to offer a course of five 2-hour workshops to introduce tradesworkers to construction related leadership development. Attendees will commit to attending all 5 classes and can expect to be introduced to concepts like project management and becoming a foreman. We know this will be a great opportunity to develop relationships for diverse, experienced tradesworkers to start on their pathway to leadership

Deadline: March 20

Classes will be held Monday evenings from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm in the Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. classroom at 3934 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., #101 (in the basement).  The dates will be:

  • March 23
  • March 30
  • April 6
  • April 13
  • April 20

Topics include: Leadership Panel, Basics of Blue Prints, Stepping up to Foreman, Project Management Basics, and Introduction to Project Scheduling.

We have limited slots available for these workshops. If you are interested please call or email Tiffany Thompson. She will need to know a few things to process your application:

  • First and Last Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Trade
  • A short, one paragraph statement about your interest in the courses and what you hope to get out of them
  • Gender (optional)
  • Race (optional)

Applicants should be diverse women and men of color who are:

  • In their last term of apprenticeship OR
  • Who have completed highway trades apprenticeship in the last 2 – 5 years OR
  • Who can provide a reference from a company, union, or apprenticeship

Scholarships Galore!

Suzanne_Scheans* Photo courtesy of Lindsay Cimina Photography

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Here at OTI it has become the season of scholarships! March is a hot month for money supporting women in the trades! While we were not directly invited for this scholarship opportunity, thanks to our ruthless, internet-scouring staff member Leigh McIlvaine, we are able to pass the opportunity along to you!

The Dwyer Group is supporting women in the trades by awarding six $1,500 scholarships each semester. They intend for these scholarships to be used by tradeswomen to pay tuition, books, travel and/or fees. While The Dwyer Group is based in Texas, they are opening their scholarships to tradeswomen across the US and Canada. However, they do limit scholarships to seven trade specialties:

  • HVAC
  • Plumbing
  • Electrical Repair
  • Glass Repair and Replacement
  • Appliance Repair
  • Restoration
  • Landscaping

The first deadline is March 31st and the second is September 30. So, go forth and apply!
You will need to complete an application, two 500 word essays, and get a reference. Good luck!

Microsoft Word Dwyer Group Scholarship Application

 

Guest Blog: Cari Ebbert

Some might say the only difference between a teacher and a student is time and experience. I’m realizing it’s so much more than that.

cari_ebbert My name is Cari Ebbert and I thought I was over getting lessons about the trades. I’m an IBEW electrician, 13 years in, and thanks to Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. I’m still learning new skills. Even though I didn’t go through their nationally-recognized pre-apprenticeship class, OTI has been with me in a myriad of other ways through my trades career and teaching me valuable lessons along the way.

Early on as an apprentice I was recruited by my union to stand at a table during a career fair and talk about being an electrician and how to get into the IBEW apprenticeship. I got to talk about something I really loved and steer people toward a rewarding career. I really had to break out of my shell to confidently talk to whatever stranger that breezed by.   It took me about 3 years attending the Women in Trades Career Fair before I realized that OTI was the driving force behind the annual event. A few years later I was recruited to give seminars at the same Fair about solar energy. That was another experience stretching and building my skills for speaking in front of a large group. It turns out it was a joint idea between a few members of my union and Oregon Tradeswomen. Wow! Another great connection!

Now, I find myself with some free time. An unexpected layoff is both a blessing and a curse in the construction trades. Suddenly you have opportunities to devote lots of time to something, but not necessarily any money spend on it. Fortunately, that’s how volunteers are born, and I’m spending some of my time with the Trades and Career Class students.

OTI is in the process of remodeling part of their office space and I thought I would lend a hand as a volunteer instructor. A couple times during my career, I’ve taken over training of electrical apprentices while one the job. This, however, was a whole new ballgame.

I was tasked with helping a few students frame part of a wall and attach a wooden header to the ceiling. Now, I maybe be able to bend conduit into a pretzel or pull wire left-handed with my eyes closed, but teaching carpentry when it’s not my profession is another thing entirely. The students are teaching me in this case, not necessarily about carpentry (Thank goodness Amy James Neel is around for that) but about patience, and empathy, and clarity. I’ve had to give up my natural desire to JUST DO IT, and instead, I have to focus on the job process, and safety, and efficiency and how to convey those ideas to someone who may have never used a hammer before coming to this class. I’m constantly being challenged to communicate and try to describe the things that my brain and body have been doing for over a decade now.

Fortunately, what I’m lacking in carpentry skills, my students have been making up in commitment, determination and focus. Each one of those impressive women has made great sacrifice to be in the program and you can see it every day in their energy and attention. They show up on time, listen, ask questions, confront and accept failure and have the positive attitude to try it all over again. They know that this class, and a career in the trades, can be a real, tangible opportunity for growth and change. I hope I can continue to appreciate the lessons they are giving me.