Hiring for Diversity
Connect with these pre-apprenticeship programs, community groups and business organizations to help reach your hiring and specialty-contractor diversity goals.
Workforce-Diversity Resources
ANEW is a non-profit organization linking women to apprenticeships and livable-wage jobs in construction trades, manufacturing, aerospace and utilities. We support women of all ages and backgrounds as well as the apprenticeship programs and employers who advocate for their success. www.anewaop.org
The Trade Occupations Opportunity Learning Center is a twelve-week pre-apprenticeship building & construction-trades program with classes beginning every three months. Contact Kwana Wise.
This GRCC program trains students in basic and intermediate skills of residential and light-commercial carpentry.
Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Education (PACE) provides high-quality trade-related instruction to individuals seeking entry into the construction-industry’s many apprenticeship programs. Diane Davies.
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) Job Corps Programs offers Pre-Apprenticeship programs in Painting, Glazing and Floorcovering. Contact Jim Purdy.
This program attracts diverse students who obtain basic knowledge of ironwork, which will include terms, safety, measuring, tools, rigging, crane signaling, cutting and welding as they prepare for entry into the Pacific Northwest Ironworkers and Employers Local #86 Apprenticeship program. Contact Greg Christiansen.
Lending Our Voluntary Efforts To Others: Career access designed to prepare disadvantaged students for entry into construction careers. Their focus delivers quality learning opportunities that include construction readiness, fitness & nutrition, math, tool safety, resume & soft-skill building, material ID & handling and tape-measure reading as starting points to career readiness. https://www.love-to.org/
The NWCI pre-apprenticeship program is designed to give students daily exposure to both hands-on applications as well as the math required to survive and excel in the industry. Contact Paula Resa at 253.437.5235
The goal of PSSC Construction Tech is to allow high-school students to pursue pre-training for carpentry and other trades-based apprenticeships, as well as to prepare them to enter the construction industry through the direct-entry route of apprenticeship, or through the hiring process as a career path. Contact Todd Moorhead.
The SVI-PACT program is designed to assist men and women, including those non-traditionally employed in the trade, to gain the skills needed to become successful competitors for building and construction trade apprenticeship programs. Participants learn trade skills, which are relevant to the work-site of various trade occupations. Contact Krishna-Richardson Daniels.
Spokane Community College’s (SCC) Apprenticeship and Journeyman Training Center, Eastern Washington Apprenticeship Coordinators Council (EWACC) and the Adult Basic Education division have partnered to develop the Skilled-Trades Preparation (STP) program aimed at providing a diverse and qualified pool of applicants for apprenticeship-training programs. Contact Kenna May.
This training organization under the Tulalip Tribe’s TERO department (Tribal Employment Rights Office) focuses on training Native Americans and their families, allowing them to secure family-wage positions in the construction field. Contact Lynne Bansemer.
Supports community members traditionally under-represented in the construction industry so they achieve successful careers. ULMS can work with construction employers to connect them to diverse talent such as pre-apprenticeship program graduates, and apprentices. Contact Lawrence Willis.
Hire a veteran! A quick internet search shows articles from many recognized business leaders who endorse hiring veterans as a good business practice. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/employers/hire
National job board for veterans, and pricing for placing an ad: https://wehireheroes.com/employer-products/
What’s Next Washington is an organization of formerly incarcerated individuals and allies working to help people with conviction histories reintegrate into society. They help employers recruit, hire and retain employees with conviction histories so that they can meet both their skilled-labor needs and their diversity goals. The collaboration process includes customized services which include HR hiring tools and manuals, in-house trainings and talent sourcing. Contact Roz Solomon.
YouthBuild Seattle is a six-month, 40 hrs/week, nationally certified, college accredited, paid construction pre-apprenticeship designed to educate and train these underrepresented young adults to meet and exceed minimum qualifications for entry into apprenticeship programs upon graduation. Contact Melinda Glovengo.
YouthBuild Spokane This program provides education, counseling and job skills to unemployed young American adults (between ages 18 and 24) who have not finished their high school diploma or GED.
YouthBuild Tacoma provides young adults ages 18 – 24 the opportunity to learn job skills in the construction trades, along with life skills and leadership. Contact Emily Slagle.