TRAINING:
Assisting Women in Developing the Skills they Need

Unions: Skills training is at the heart of apprenticeship programs. Programs registered with the Bureau of Apprenticeship Training have minimum standards requiring at least 144 hours a year of instruction in technical subjects related to the trade, a schedule for on-the-job training, proper supervision of on-the-job training, and periodic evaluation of progress in job performance.

Why is it important to assist women to develop the mental and physical skills they need to work in male-dominated workplaces?

Because co-workers may doubt a woman's abilities to work in a nontraditional job and the work situation can be dangerous, women need to be able to demonstrate their skills. Insufficient training leaves many women unprepared to keep pace.

Studies of tradeswomen report some difficulties with classroom and on-the-job training. For example, in a Chicago Women in Trades study, 54% of women said they were not given proper training and 60 percent were given the dirtiest and heaviest assignments. Problems may be greater for women of color.

In general, women have had less exposure to nontraditional occupations and may have had less preparation to ensure their success on the job. They may fear math - a requirement for most nontraditional jobs; they may be unfamiliar with tools; and they may not be accustomed to doing heavy lifting. All these elements can be learned, however, and proper training can help ensure their success in their chosen field.

Key Elements for Training Women for Nontraditional Jobs and Apprenticeships:

• Provide access to training opportunities for women to learn the necessary skills through occupationally-specific math training, pre-vocational training such as tool identification and safety, and physical conditioning.
• Review current materials to eliminate gender and race-biased assumptions.
• Consider establishing additional training programs to assist women in areas such as physical conditioning or tool identification.

• Assess your current training strategies in the Issue Self-Assessment Quiz.
• Request help to implement training strategies identified in the Issue Self-Assessment Quiz.
• Ask additional questions on training women in Ask A Question
• Search our Resource Database for People and Documents that can help you train women in nontraditional occupations and apprenticeships.
• Share your experience in training employees/members with other employers and unions by posting news to the Workplace Discussion Forum.
  
  Additional Issue Overviews:
  • Recruitment
  • Orientation and Assignment
  • Retention
  • Sexual Harassment Prevention