On Saturday, March 15, 2008, the Rhode Island Commission on Women (RICW) held its first ever Girls Non-Traditional Trades Forum (GNTT) at the Community College of Rhode Island Flanagan Campus, in Lincoln, Rhode Island. The daylong event was geared toward middle and high school girls and their mothers, mentors, big sisters or teachers. GNTT featured hands-on experiential learning opportunities in trade skills, networking with, and information from, women currently in the trades, and a luncheon with successful tradeswomen as panel speakers.

Tradeswomen from Carpenters Local 94, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 99, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsworkers Local 1 and Lead Abatement Specialists from General Environmental Services, Inc., The Community College of Rhode Island Division of Life Long Learning and the State of Rhode Island OSHA Consulatation Program acted as teachers to program participants. Each girl was given an opportunity to try Carpentry, Electrical, Masonry and Lead Abatement.

To view a slide show from the event, click HERE

To find out more about jobs, gender and poverty click HERE

To read in more detail about women in non-traditional trades, click HERE

These sponsors, through their generous donations, made this event possible: