Minority & Small Business Week
September 23, 2009
Page A7
Placing Women in Good Paying Jobs
Group offers
pre-apprentice
training
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
When Alexandra Brucculeri re­
turned from the Peace Corp all she
could find was low-paying nanny
work. So she decided to pursue a
course few women might con­
sider: carpentry.
Although Brucculeri chose an
unconventional vocation, she had
help.
People typically associate blue-
collar construction jobs with salty
Carhartt-clad men. However, Or­
egon Tradeswomen, Inc. has been
working since 1989 to change that
perception by helping women
break into well-paying trades.
It offers a pre-apprentice train­
ing program that teaches women
everything from how to swing a
hammer to basic work site eti­
quette.
After completing their stints as
trainees, Oregon Tradeswomen
helps place them in an apprentice­
ship program that puts them on
the fast track to landing good-pay­
ing blue-collar jobs as mechanics,
plumbers, electricians, and other
vocations.
“It’s accessible,” said Brucculeri
of why she signed up with the pro­
gram.
On a soggy morning in northeast
Portland, women clad in work
boots and hard hats lug long
wooden boards across the saw­
dust-covered floor. The screech of
electric drills and the rhythm of
ham m ers pounding nails into
wood saturate the air as trainees
with Oregon Tradeswomen Inc.
renovate a building for JOIN, a
non-profit organization that advo­
cates for the homeless.
photo by J ake T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
Amy James-Neel (from left), an instructor with Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc., goes over a blueprint with two trainees, Carol
Caplinger and Alexandra Brucculeri.
These are living wage
jobs. This about
economic justice. VZcîo"“ ""'
Two women erect a metal frame
for a wall while Amy James-Neel,
an instructor, looks over their
shoulders to make sure it’s plumb,
James-Neel explains that train-
ing women for these jobs can be
a challenge.
Young girls aren't encouraged to
learn how to use tools, said James-
Neel, who added that she has had
to prove herself on job sites while
working as a carpenter. But as
she’s watched her trainees get
good jobs as plumbers and elec­
tricians, she realized it’s worth it.
“These are living wage jobs,”
she said. “This about economic
justice.”
A ccording to the Bureau of
L abor S ta tistic s, the m edian
wage for a childcare worker (a
jo b tra d itio n a lly fille d w ith
women) is $9.12 and hour. An
electrician or carpenter can ex­
pect to make between $18 and
$22 an hour. H ow ever, labor
bureau studies still show that
men dominate these industries.
But that's not stopping Melissa
Jackson, who used to work in
continued
Being Powered
by Orange means
finding and applying my passion
“ I love Oregon Sta
student is for you to discover
vour passion and apply it,
I
Caution: Business
opportunities ahead
Let’s build together. Help us meet our goal to award
25% of our business opportunities to small businesses,
including minority owned businesses. Visit our Web site
Uzo C. Ukeagu
to register for business opportunities.
New York City; Lagos Nigeria
Philosophy, chem istry,
international studies
poweredbyorange.com
www. portof port land.com
0
Oregon
State
U N IV E R S IT Y
PORT OF PORTLAND
Possibility. In every direction.'
on page All)