Dive Brief:
- A new initiative to help more women enter careers in manufacturing is helping displaced women workers. A way one state is helping: the Step Up for Women Advanced Manufacturing Pre-Apprenticeship program that's being offered by West Virginia Women Work Inc., reports The Herald Dispatch.
- While the program designed for women has currently only graduated 12 women, it has a long history of graduating others with an 80% job placement rate in the state. There is no tuition for the program and it supplies participants with safety boots, books, and other much-needed supplies.
- Enrollment for early January 2017 is happening now as interest in other apprenticeship programs continues to grow.
Dive Insight:
West Virginia Women Work is an example of a professional development program that's helping women to get the training they need to succeed in traditionally male-dominated career paths. This can be a great opportunity for women to earn more and support their families, while improving diversity of hiring in occupations like construction, commercial manufacturing, life insurance, and more.
Because it appears to be privately funded, it's safe from state budget cuts. More employers can learn from this example and support training organizations that bring women into different types of careers.
