NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK AND NATIONAL WOMEN IN APPRENTICESHIP DAY
Thanks to everyone who made the 2016 National Apprenticeship Week and National Women in Apprenticeship Day a success! Thousands of tradeswomen and allies celebrated Thursday, November 17th as National Women in Apprenticeship Day. This call to action helped to increase awareness of Registered Apprenticeship to upskill our nation’s workers, expand the talent pipeline available to U.S. industries, and diversify our nation’s workforce. Hundreds of events were hosted around the country to honor tradeswomen and highlight their contributions to the industry and our nation, including many cities that signed proclamations recognizing National Women in Apprenticeship Day!
Thank you to everyone who shared their story in honor of the United State of Women Summit on how women are changing our industry and working towards equity! The White House hosted the United State of Women Summit on June 14-15, 2016, in Washington, D.C. to hear what we need and what we are doing to improve the lives of women and girls. To learn more about the event, please visit http://www.theunitedstateofwomen.org.
EEO & AMERICA'S WORKFORCE SYSTEM
The National Taskforce on Tradeswomen Issues contributed to comments to the U.S. Department of Labor on Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action for the Workforce Investment and Opportunities Act (WIOA) which is the federal workforce legislation that regulates training and assistance to our nation's workforce system. Thank you to TWTF member National Women's Law Center for leading the effort! Read the full comments, signed on by 86 women's organizations here.
EEO & APPRENTICESHIP
Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a comment and share your personal experience about how important the U.S. Department of Labor Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action in registered apprenticeship programs to ensure access, opportunity, and equity for women, minorities, and people with disabilities. Thank you for taking the time to share your stories and comments with the U.S. Department of Labor - together, over 200 comments were submitted!
Your voices were heard! The U.S. DOL released the updated regulations in December 2017. You can read more here.
National Taskforce on Tradeswomen Issues advocated long and hard with the U.S. Department of Labor to update the rules as they had not been updated since 1978. You can read the full comments submitted by the Tradeswomen’s Task Force EEO NPRM Recommendations.
VICTORY! WANTO WIN!
Thank you to Senators Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden, and Patty Murray for their tremendous leadership in ensuring the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) program was extended for another year! WANTO is the only federal funding source solely dedicated for job training, supportive services and technical resources for women seeking entrance and retention in nontraditional careers such as construction, transportation, energy, utilities and manufacturing. Thank you to TWTF member and co-chair Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. for driving the effort and those TWTF members who advocated for WANTO as well! Tradeswomen Voices Matter! For more details on this exciting win click here.
Remember, Tradeswomen voices matter! And be sure to check back soon for upcoming advocacy campaigns!