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A new bid seeks to streamline women in the construction workforce, as 3% of all Delaware apprenticeships are held by women. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS[/caption]
WILMINGTON — With the construction industry looking at a long-term labor shortage, Delaware is looking to shore up the workforce by preparing to offer a new program focused on getting women ready for trade apprenticeships.
The Department of Labor recently issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a two-year contract to run two pre-apprenticeship programs geared toward developing soft skills and basic math training for skilled trades. At least one is dedicated to serving an all-woman cohort, with the hope to boost women in the construction field.
The RFP also is looking to start a pre-apprenticeship program “broad in nature” and not limited in gender to serve underemployed, unemployed and those looking to upskill.
The Department of Labor has an estimated $1.85 million budgeted for both programs, with $1.1 million allocated for the woman-only program. Funding is allocated from $50 million that Gov. John Carney earmarked for workforce development initiatives from the state’s share of the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
“We’re laser-focused on increasing the number of people going into trade skills overall, but especially women,” Delaware Department of Labor Secretary Karryl Hubbard told Delaware Business Times. “There’s a lot of value in these careers, and there’s a lot of infrastructure coming into the state focusing on green energy. All those projects require electricians, plumbers and more. It’s going to be very important that we have a workforce ready for these needs.”
The RFP for an all-women pre-apprenticeship cohort came from a recent Women in Trades report issued by the Delaware Women’s Advancement and Advocacy Office in partnership with the Labor Department and the Department of Education. That same report noted that only 3% of apprentices in 2022 were women.
As of last year, there are 418 employers that offer apprenticeships in a earn-while-you-learn model with 1,696 apprentices occupations like electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, HVAC, sheet metal workers, and construction laborers.
Women at work
The Women in Trades report shows that there were 3,764 Delaware women in construction trades, representing 9.3% of all construction jobs in 2019. That percentage of women in construction puts Delaware on par with New Jersey (9.2%) and Pennsylvania (9.2%), but behind the national average (10.6%).
The number grows even smaller when it comes to women of color in construction. Delaware reported 231 women of color, or 6% of all workers four years ago. The nationwide average is 17%, and both New Jersey and Pennsylvania range at 20% to 27%.
In comparison, Delaware women have been strongly represented in other traditionally male-dominated fields. The report estimates that 28% of firefighters and 26.2% of police officers are women, looking at a five-year snapshot.
“Construction really is the last frontier. It’s really important to have women given opportunities in these fields, because these are family-sustaining wages,” Women’s Advancement and Advocacy Office Director Melanie Ross Levin said. “Frankly, we’re not going to be able to compete on these projects and provide sustaining wages if we’re cutting out 50% of our population as a potential pool of employees. A lot of these jobs don’t require college degrees, and this is also a job where you can transition from training to a full-time position with an earn-while-you-learn model.”
Construction jobs pay a median of $48,610 nationwide, according to a 2020 report. A 2021 Delaware Department of Labor report of occupations and wages show that there are 16,700 people working in construction and extraction jobs, with a median salary of $49,919.
In comparison, other woman-dominated occupations with similar education requirements earn slightly less. Secretaries and administrative assistants earn an average salary at $38,850, while customer service representatives earn an average at $35,830, per the Women in Trades report.
The Department of Labor’s recent industry projections show that construction will have the fourth-highest net job growth in the state.
Challenges on the job
However, women often face a high wall to climb to break into construction. The Department of Labor ran a focus group last year with women who currently work in the trades, and they spoke about the harassment and discrimination often faced on the job, despite trades unions being on the look-out.
Child care also remains an issue keeping women out of the workforce and cost-prohibitive. But specific to skills trades, training often requires workers and trainers to be on the job early in the morning and attending night courses – which may be an added expense.
Another major challenge is women facing the benefits cliff, or disproportionately losing benefits when transitioning off public assistance and starting to earn more income. The report from the Office of Women Advancement shows that 58% of people living in poverty in Delaware are women. While 30,000 families live in poverty in the First State, more than half of those families include single mothers.
The RFP for the pre-apprenticeship program calls for piloting benefit counseling and workshops, as well as looking for other solutions.
“We have some ideas of what will work, but we’re hoping that people will come to the table with strategies and creative solutions on how to address this,” Hubbard said.
Getting women interested
Pre-apprenticeships not only aim to provide skills for workers to enter a registered apprenticeship, but also provide a network for those starting out. For women, who are currently underrepresented in the field, Hubbard hopes that the women-only cohort would provide more support.
“If you’re the only woman walking onto a job site, you may not be comfortable on a job,” she said. “With the pre-apprenticeship cohorts, the hope is that with maybe two or three women on a job at a time there will be a support system, much like going into a class where you’re learning together.”
Early exposure to construction trades may also help bring women into the pipeline. Delaware’s three vocational technical schools had 15% girls enroll in trades in the 2020-2021 school year, representing 13% of those who complete a trades program.
The Women’s Advancement and Advocacy Office report recommends working with these vo-tech schools to explore additional funding to cover registered apprenticeship classes. The current funding model offers $1,050 per apprentice, which may not be enough to cover the entire cost of training. Early research suggests that changing the funding structure for apprentice programs has the ability to impact 1,500 apprentices immediately, with more than 500 in the next five years, according to the Women in Trades report.
Other recommendations also suggest establishing a statewide women’s committee and creating a pre-apprenticeship at Baylor’s Women Correctional Institution, which serves 400 students through the state’s prison adult education program.
“Not only does the program there have high completion levels, there’s an opportunity there where women don’t have the same scheduling challenges that they typically face,” Ross Levin said. “ This would be a great opportunity to provide that exposure to people who are typically trying to rebuild their lives financially, for a career that can provide that chance.”
