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Trades Women Resources


Examples of Successful Mentorship Programs
By Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. Mentoring and Mentorship that Works for Tradeswomen There are huge demands on the time of working women. Tradeswomen add the demands of overtime, apprenticeship classes, continuing education for journeyworkers, union meetings on top of this. Issues of schedule rigidity mean that it is hard for tradeswomen to get away to speak to students during the workday – your team & employer counts on each worker to be there, to accomplish the work – next to im
6 min read


Powerful Words, Powerful Women: Book Groups and the Trades
In 2014, Chicago Women in Trades in partnership with the Alphawood Foundation, piloted a unique strategy for delivering workplace readiness instruction to aspiring tradeswomen, a Book Club facilitated by Literature for All of Us. Most workplace readiness curriculum falls short, communicating what success looks like in the industry, but not necessarily helping participants internalize the belief that they are capable of and supported in meeting those expectations. Literature f
4 min read


How An Email Distribution List Can Benefit Your SIB Committee
A Distribution List allows you to send multiple emails using one group email rather than using individual emails. You can create a Distribution List in Microsoft Outlook by following instructions at the end of this article. Below is some useful information to assist you. Why Should You Use An Email Distribution List? To save time. Instead of selecting the names of multiple Sisters when you want to send an email, you just select the name assigned to the distribution list. To s
5 min read


Ways Committees Can Use New Technology
While telephone calls and emails may have been the traditional methods of communicating with Sisters, technology has evolved to include methods like social media and video calls. This so-called “new technology” is now viewed as traditional. So if you want to get in touch and stay in touch with Sisters, determine the communication methods they use and make this the traditional method for you and your committee. This article contains suggestions on communicating with Sisters wh
1 min read


The Benefits of Working With Younger Girls
If you want your SIB Committee to grow and become stronger for generations to come, get involved and stay involved with organizations that help young girls. Why? Because young girls will become young women who can become UBC members. All this can happen if young girls see females working in construction. This article contains several ways to help the Sisters in your SIB committees engage in the kind of volunteer activities to make that happen. This document also answers sever
6 min read


Ways Committees Can Market at Conferences
Tradeswomen conferences provide an opportunity to increase awareness about your committee. You can share information about your committee and highlight your activities. Bottom line: You can let women know what you do for others, as well as what you can do for them. Your presence at conferences can have positive results in a lot of areas: More women might attend your meetings More women might become involved with your committee Your committee might become more successful Use t
3 min read


Volunteer Organizations
Your Sisters in the Brotherhood committee may want to get involved with community projects or other types of organizations. Below are a few to consider: nationalbreastcancer.org foundationforwomenscancer.org sistersnetworkinc.org komen.org diabetes.org alz.org (Alzheimer’s Organization) wish.org (Make a Wish Organization) aca.org (American Correctional Association: Girl’s Youth Correctional Facilities) habitat.org bigbrothersbigsisters.org nawic.org (National Association
1 min read


Ways Committees Can Support Women in Pre-Apprenticeship Programs
Supporting women in pre-apprenticeship programs is one way your SIB committee can directly impact the growth of your committee and the growth of the UBC. This document contains some ways your committee can offer support to pre-apprentices. It also contains some benefits to your committee Sisters. General Approach Establish connections with key individuals at Training Centers Have the SIB Chair, alone or with other Sisters, meet the coordinator/director of the pre-apprenticesh
2 min read


Supporting Job Corps for Female Recruitment
Job Corps is the nation's largest career technical training and education program for students ages 16 through 24. Students will typically be matched with centers close to their hometown. In some cases, students live at home and commute each day to their center. For more than 40 years, the UBC has contracted with the federal government to provide Job Corps students hands-on training in entry-level carpentry skills and essential construction procedures. We now operate 60 progr
4 min read


Ways to Justify Funding Requests
The key to gaining support is planning and organizing. Start the process early to give potential sponsors ample time for approvals and budgeting. When approaching your local, council, or contractor, remember that what you offer in exchange for the funding is going to be an important factor in getting a positive response. A clear funding request can tilt the balance in your favor. Groups/Organizations to Send Funding Requests Consider making requests to the following: Local un
6 min read


Ways to Get Help from Regional Councils and Local Unions
Identify what Regional Councils, Locals, and JATC can help with. Before you approach these leadership groups, you should know what you need. You should also know whether these groups can provide you with what you need. Some areas where you might have needs include: Marketing Meetings/Mailings Events Recruitment/Retention initiatives (e.g., help with Open House) Staff assistance from Regional Council, Local, or JATC Educate the Regional Councils, Locals, and JATC. While you ma
2 min read


What You See
Learning & Skills Observation Skills Perception Skills Time & Tools Total Time: 25 minutes Necessary Tools: None Optional Tools: Flip chart or writing board Note: The room needs to be large enough so that sets of partners or groups are not sitting directly beside each other. A classroom setting is ideal. Step 1 Tell everyone they will be performing a communication exercise. Tell each person to select a partner to work with (they will work in pairs of 2). Have the partners mov
2 min read


What Is The Best Use?
Learning & Skills: Team Building Decision Making Negotiation Time & Tools Total Time: 30 minutes Necessary Tools: Pencils or pens and blank paper Optional Tools: Flip chart or writing board Note: The room needs to be large enough so that partners or groups are not sitting directly beside each other. A classroom setting is ideal. Step 1 Give everyone a pencil or pen and a blank sheet of paper. Tell everyone they will be performing an exercise that focuses on decision-making. T
2 min read


Picture of Success
Learning & Skills Respecting Differences Identifying Similarities Evaluating Personal Viewpoints Time & Tools Total Time: 30 minutes Necessary Tools: Items for partners to use during the exercise Pencils or pens and blank paper Optional Tools: Flip chart or writing board Note: The room needs to be large enough so that partners or groups are not sitting directly beside each other. A classroom setting is ideal. Step 1 Tell everyone they will be performing an exercise on creativ
2 min read


Person-to-Person
Learning & Skills Listening Skills Speaking Skills Time & Tools Total Time: 15 minutes Necessary Tools: None Optional Tools: Flip chart or writing board Note: Everyone needs to be sitting side-by-side or close enough to lean over and talk to the person sitting next to her. Sitting in a circle is ideal. Step 1 Tell everyone they will be performing an exercise that involves listening. The person leading the exercise has a piece of paper that has a sentence on it. This sentence
2 min read


Perfect Skills
Learning & Skills Identifying Skills Identifying Strengths Identifying Abilities Building Self-Esteem Building Self-Confidence Time & Tools Total Time: 45 minutes Necessary Tools: Pencils or pens and blank paper Optional Tools: Flip chart or writing board Note: The room needs to be large enough so that partners or groups are not sitting directly beside each other. A classroom setting is ideal. Step 1 Give everyone a pencil or pen and a blank sheet of paper. Tell everyone they
2 min read


My Best Experience
Learning & Skills Positive Thinking Problem Solving Decision Making Time & Tools Total Time: 45 minutes Necessary Tools: Pencils or pens and blank paper Optional Tools: Flip chart or writing board Note: The room needs to be large enough so that partners or groups are not sitting directly beside each other. A classroom setting is ideal. Step 1 Give everyone a pencil or pen and blank paper. Tell everyone they will be performing an exercise that involves reflecting on positive w
2 min read


Making Choices
Learning & Skills Creative Thinking Problem Solving Decision Making Time & Tools Total Time: 35 minutes Necessary Tools: Pencils or pens Three 3 X 5 cards for each person or Three card-sized pieces of paper Optional Tools: Flip chart or writing board Note: The room needs to be large enough so that partners or groups are not sitting directly beside each other. A classroom setting is ideal. Step 1 Give everyone a pencil or pen and three 3 X 5 cards or three card-sized pieces of
3 min read


Just My Size
Learning & Skills: Respecting Differences Highlighting Similarities Building Self-Esteem Building Self-Confidence Time & Tools Total Time : 15 minutes Necessary Tools : Pencils or pens and blank paper Optional Tools : Flip chart or writing board Step 1 Give everyone a pencil or pen and a blank sheet of paper. Tell everyone they will be performing an exercise that focuses on similarities and differences. Tell everyone to place their hand on the sheet of paper and draw an outli
2 min read


Is There Another Way
Learning & Skills Creative Thinking Problem Solving Decision Making Time & Tools Total Time: 20 minutes Necessary Tools: Items for partners to use during the exercise Pencils or pens and blank paper Optional Tools: Flip chart or writing board Note: The room needs to be large enough so that partners or groups are not sitting directly beside each other. A classroom setting is ideal. Step 1 Tell everyone they will be performing an exercise on creative thinking. Tell each person
2 min read
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