ST Spotlight: Learning the trades
Learning the right skills is critical in finding a construction trade job.
That’s why Sound Transit, and a group of seven other organizations, got together to make it easier. The group recently received a $476,000 “Ladders of Opportunity” grant from the Federal Transit Administration to help individuals from underrepresented communities learn construction trade skills.
The grant will target women, people of color and native tribes to improve their access to apprenticeships, social services and job placement programs.
Besides Sound Transit, the organizations include Workforce Snohomish, City of Tacoma, Apprenticeship & Non-Traditional Employment for Women, Bates Technical College, Seattle Vocational Institute Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program, Tulalip Tribal Employment Rights Office Construction Training Center and The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.