Minnesota construction training program for women has 90% job placement rate

Updated Jun 27, 2013

Women Wear Hard Hats Too training programFacing big projects like the St. Croix Crossing bridge, the Central Corridor Light Rail and a new football stadium for the Minnesota Vikings, more and more women are filling Minnesota’s need for construction workers thanks to a training program in Minneapolis.

Women Wear Hard Hats Too is a 20-week program that seeks to fully prepare women for a profession in the construction industry, according to our sister site Better Roads.

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The program “features an industry network, advisory council, tradeswoman mentorship program and job placement support. It also uses “’brown bag sessions’ to teach women how to physically prepare for trade work, balance family and work and spot sexual harassment.”

According to a report from news station KAAL, Gary Courtney, a construction training manager said “women are ‘in demand’ to fill construction jobs.” “We literally cannot enroll enough women to meet the constant demand of the contractors,” Courtney told the station.

Given that demand, the program enjoys a 90 percent job placement rate for the women it enrolls.

The program’s tuition is $5,400, but in most cases the cost is covered by grants.