Our Students Help Build Four New Tiny Homes in Dignity Village

On April 4th, four new tiny homes were unveiled at Dignity Village, one of Portland’s oldest city-recognized camps which is a membership-based community providing shelter to more than 50 people. Many of the structures are more than 15 years old and have problems with mold, leaks, and pests. To help improve the situation, a few local nonprofits, including Oregon Tradeswomen and The ReBuilding Center, came together to build better homes for the camp.

Not only does this project benefit the community, but it gives our students the invaluable opportunity to get hands-on construction experience. This is incredibly important to our Training Director, Amy James Neel:

“Building small structures provides students with a unique opportunity to touch multiple aspects of residential construction on a condensed timeline. The building skills they develop during class prepares them to integrate into professional trades jobs where they will make a living wage. The partnership between the ReBuilding Center and Oregon Tradeswomen allows our students to build safe structures for our community while also building their own confidence that they belong in the skilled trades.”

We are beaming with pride for our students, both for their exemplary work and for this important contribution to our community!

Oregon Tradeswomen “We’ve BEEN Doing It” At AAUW Convention

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) held a convention on the weekend of the 20th of April in Hillsboro, OR where many women gathered for meetings, workshops, and networking around the topics of equity, empowerment, and education of women. Oregon Tradeswomen’s Construction Training Director, Amy James Neel, had the honor of leading a workshop at the event on Saturday called “We’ve BEEN Doing It!”

Amy discovered carpentry by accident, but the trades are her ideal career! She didn’t even know that the trades were an option for her, as representations of tradeswomen are not common.  This put Amy on a mission to introduce women and girls to the possibilities of a career in the trades. This path eventually led her to Oregon Tradeswomen where’s she’s been for the last decade at first as a contract instructor, and now as our Training Director!

The workshop Amy led was focused on Oregon Tradeswomen, how our Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class is structured, how it impacts the women who seek our services, and our long-lasting impact on families, on our community, and on the industry – literally changing the face of construction. So many people were interested in attending this workshop that it filled to capacity and a number of people had to be turned away at the door. We are so grateful people are interested in the work we do and want to learn more about how they can support our mission.

DJC Launches Women of Vision Magazine

Every year, the Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) honors exemplary Women of Vision who, through their leadership, hard work, and perseverance, are shaping our built environment with their leadership, mentoring efforts, community involvement and the promotion of industry diversity.

The DJC Honors a new group of such women each year at the “Women of Vision Awards Luncheon.  While this is an important annual event, Daily Journal of Commerce Editor, Stephanie Basalyga, thought that these influential women deserved more than a single event:

“We at the Daily Journal of Commerce decided it was time to create Women of Vision magazine. Named after the awards program the DJC holds each fall, this new quarterly publication will tell the stories of women who are building our city, our state and our region.”

The DJC’s new publication will share stories about women of the past who shaped the world to be as how we know it, as well as the women of the present who are helping direct the future of the construction industry.

The inaugural edition of Women of Vision features women such as Nina Allen,  a construction inspector for the Portland International Airport, and Lisa Patterson, recipient of the Mark O. Hatfield Architectural Award.

Do you know of a woman who deserves to be acknowledged for her dedication to the industry? Women of Vision magazine encourages introductions and submissions. Send email to: wovmagazine@djcoregon.com.

You may read their first issue online here!

PCC Honors Oregon Tradeswomen as “Employer Partners of the Year”

On April 11, 2018, nearly 100 people representing Portland Community College‘s (PCC) key employer partners gathered at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for an early morning breakfast hosted by PCC. Three organizations were recognized as PCC’s Employer Partners of the Year: one small business (Blessing Landscapes), one large business (Intel Corporation), and one non-profit (Oregon Tradeswomen).

Marc Goldberg, associate vice president of Workforce Development and Continuing Education at PCC, stated:

“For PCC to effectively prepare its students for employment opportunities and careers in an ever-changing work environment, we need strong partnerships with local employers… The event was simply a means to thank our partners, whose input, support and guidance enables PCC to educate a skilled workforce — and this is what drives Oregon’s economy. PCC’s partnership with a variety of organizations, in many and varied configurations, enables the college to be a critical catalyst for the region’s economic success. All of us can stand to benefit from a thriving economy, and for that, we want to thank our partners.”

PCC staff spent a year and a half of planning and deliberation when considering which partners had the most impact on PCC students, graduates, and the communities to which they belong. Oregon Tradeswomen was selected in recognition of our partnership with PCC’s Swan Island Trades Center which offers programs in welding, machine manufacturing technology, and career pathways. Additionally, Oregon Tradeswomen’s Industrial Fabrication track (formerly known as “Women in Metals & Manufacturing” program) brings many women to PCC to advance their education in metal disciplines. Oregon Tradeswomen’s commitment to advancing equity in the trades has also influenced PCC’s partnership with Vigor and the Maritime Welding program where women are currently 50 percent of the students!

Oregon Tradeswomen staff: Abby Bandurraga, Pathways Program Manager (left) and Max Beyelia, Job Developer (right)

Amy James Neel, Oregon Tradeswomen’s Training Director, observed, “Our students tend to go off into a lot of different construction industries, some of which we are really well connected with, and some of which PCC helps us gain even better access to those connections. PCC has been able to bridge that divide for our pre-apprenticeship program, which prepares them for these entry-level jobs.”

Oregon Tradeswomen extends our deepest gratitude and appreciation to Portland Community College not only for this honor, but for being truly outstanding community partners!

Update 5/9/18: You can view PCC’s video about Oregon Tradeswomen here!