Congress Passes Extension on WANTO Training Funds!

Senator Merkley Fair

Senator Jeff Merkley at the 2012 Women in Trades Career Fair

We’re thrilled to announce that the Women in Apprenticeship and Non Traditional Occupations (WANTO) program has received funding for another year!  Along with our co-grantees ANEW, Tradeswomen, Inc., NEW-NYC, and Chicago Women in Trades, Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. advocated for the renewal of the WANTO program, which remains the only source of federal funding that specifically targets women’s participation in apprenticeship.

Together in a coalition with our co-grantees, OTI worked closely with the staff of U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, whose leadership was instrumental to getting WANTO funds included in the federal budget.

“Women hold less than three percent of high-wage jobs in the construction industry and face many barriers in gaining access to these nontraditional jobs,” said Merkley. “I’ve fought for funding for WANTO because it will make a big difference in helping train and ultimately put women in Oregon to work in high-wage, electrical, mechanical, highway and utility trades jobs that will provide financial security for a lifetime.”

Amy-James-Neel-with-Sen-Wyden-OTI

Senator Ron Wyden with TACC instructor Amy at the “Sugar Shack” in Northeast Portland

We’re proud of the work that we have accomplished with WANTO funds, which are critical to our ability to provide training to low income women at no cost to them.  This fall, students in our WANTO-funded Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class inspired community partners and Oregon leaders through their work to demolish and repurpose the former “Sugar Shack” strip club into a Cully neighborhood asset.  We were fortunate to be able to share that work with U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, who stopped by the job site after learning about our community partnership.

We’re thankful to our allies in the Senate who heard our call and took action on behalf of women everywhere.

Press Release

Thank You to The Stimson-Miller Foundation

stimson miller

Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. (OTI) is honored to have been selected as a recent grantee of The Stimson-Miller Foundation in support of our Pathways to Success program.

This $8,000 grant will support Pathways to Success, OTI’s job training and employment program to help low-income women move out of poverty into a high-wage, skilled trades career. Pathways to Success fosters the economic self-sufficiency of low-income women by providing job training, support services, job placement and retention services for women entering high-wage trades careers. Grant funds will pay help for student support services (such as hard hats, rain gear, boots, and tools), student transportation (for field trips to apprenticeship training centers and construction job sites), and a portion of staff time of our employment services team. With support from The Stimson-Miller Foundation, OTI will inform 960 women about trades career opportunities, train 90 women in the Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class, and graduate 72 women with the skills to enter the building and construction trades careers!

The purpose of the Stimson-Miller Foundation is to carry on the charitable interests and concerns of the owners of Stimson Lumber Company, in the greater Portland area and communities throughout the United States where Stimson conducts its business and areas where Company shareholders reside or have charitable-giving interests.

Thank you again to The Stimson-Miller Foundation for their ongoing support of our work to train and educate low-income women about living-wage trades careers. Visit The Stimson-Miller Foundation website to learn more about their work.

 

Annual Meeting – January 28

Save the Date for Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.’s Annual Meeting

Thursday January 28, 2016
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

La Carreta Mexican Restaurant
4534 SE McLoughlin Blvd.
Portland, OR 97202

Annual Meeting and Misc 2015 219

Join us!
Come and spend an evening with OTI staff and all of the tradeswomen you haven’t seen for awhile. It is a big gathering to kick off the new year!

Delicious Food!  
OTI will be providing food for you to enjoy. No host bar.

Prizes!
What? Yes, this year OTI will have a raffle of some great items. Including a pair of binoculars, an energy audit by Enhabit, CDs, t-shirts, coffee cups, and more!

We hope to see you there!

Business Membership Spotlight: Walsh Construction Co.

Screen shot 2015-12-09 at 4.17.43 PM

Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. welcomes the support of the business community to help us fulfill our mission to engage more women in the trades.

Walsh Construction Co. is one of our partners in this program and we thank them for their contribution to OTI.

“It started in 1961 when two young brothers, Tom and Bob Walsh, who had an idea for a business, created Walsh Construction. They were college students with limited funds, so the shoe box served as their filing cabinet and the Chevy van as their transportation.

Over the years, they made smart decisions, seized opportunities, developed innovative approaches, and asked people who shared their passion for building the Northwest to come along with them as they grew into something extraordinary.

Those characteristics endure to this day. At WALSH, we’re always focused on building Smart, building Green and building Community. Just as importantly, we’re focused on the people who join us for the ride.”

OTI thanks the staff of Walsh Construction Co. for their support of our programming as a business membership program participant!

If you want to learn more about our business membership program, please send an email to dennise@tradeswomen.net for details on how you can be involved.

Congratulations Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class Graduates!

grads

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.