Labor Department Enters $20M Partnership to Open Doors to Women, Minorities in Trades

Construction Dive

The Department of Labor has entered a $20 million agreement with TradesFutures—a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit—to advance equitable opportunities in the construction industry, according to a press release shared with Construction Dive. 

TradesFutures will use the funds to enroll over 13,000 participants in apprenticeship readiness programs, then place at least 7,000 of them in registered apprenticeships across the country over the next four years. The initiative is in part geared toward staffing projects created by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

The nonprofit will partner with the DOL, the National Urban League and North America’s Building Trades Unions to focus on developing a gateway for women, people of color, veterans, Native Americans and other underrepresented groups to access apprenticeship programs. The project will initially explore programs in Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee before expanding to other states. 

For more information and to read key takeaways, visit Construction Dive, our sister publication, to read the original article.