Women in Construction Week 2022
Orleans Technical College has been educating women in construction for five decades, and has seen interest swell in recent years. As the “great resignation” continues to unfold and the baby boomer generation retires, the trades are in desperate need of workers. This interest is especially strong with women, and the school is celebrating female students during National Women in Construction week, March 6-12, 2022.
“For almost 50 years, women have been having success at Orleans Tech. They quickly learn that not only do they survive in our classrooms. They thrive,” said Rodney Brutton, Orleans Tech Campus President. “When a student completes one of our 6-month day or 13-month night training programs, they graduate with a skill that they have for life. That skill can be used in countless ways, but most importantly they can be turned into careers that are in high demand.”
Thanks to a rapidly aging construction industry workforce, jobs are plentiful and offer excellent pay that includes starting salaries above the national median wage, the ability to earn six figures, and incredible stability. Once students graduate, Orleans Tech utilizes decades-old relationships with employers around the region to help find jobs for graduates. Many also return for additional education, stacking skills so that they can become entrepreneurs, opening their own businesses.
“More and more we are seeing students come in looking to change careers after spending a decade or more working in other industries,” continued Brutton. “This is especially true of the women who have been enrolling, and they are coming from past backgrounds of all kinds. Whether someone is making a career change in their 30s, 40s or 50s, and even 60s, people can learn a trade at any point in life.”
In addition to career training, Orleans Tech offers support services, scholarships, connections to resources, and more to prepare students for recession-proof careers. To go along with an aging workforce, the United States also has an aging infrastructure in need of repair, and a skilled workforce will continue to be in high demand. By 2031 it is projected that 41% of the construction workforce will have retired, thus opening countless opportunities for anyone looking to the trades for their future