ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The Rockford area’s need for young workers continues to grow in the Skilled Trades, and one way that unions are looking to combat a workforce shortage is to attract more women into a traditionally male-dominated field.
Almost a quarter of Illinois’ skilled labor workforce is over 55 and almost 60% is over 45, according to Illinois Plumbing Consultants.
College tuition, debt, and the worker shortage have led to more educators encouraging students to take a closer look at the trades.
Dakota High School student Jasmine Brinkmeier attended the Northwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Expo, hosted by Project First Rate! at Plumbers and Pipefitters Local #23, at 4525 Boeing Drive in Rockford, on Tuesday.
"It’s a little bit more male-dominated, I feel like. But [there] is slowly becoming more and more women in the work field. And it’s nice to see that," she said. "There’s probably more of a demand for men because they’re stronger, but we’ve got a little more common sense in that aspect of things."
Eric Rankin, the College & Career Coordinator for Dakota High School added, "I really emphasized college over the last few years, and recently we noticed that we have a lot of kids who are in college. So, we have to provide these opportunities for them to see what the possibilities are and what they can do."
Just 5% of new apprentices in Illinois are women, according to state data, but new grant money and women-led efforts are trying to increase that number.
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February 20, 2024 at 04:25PM
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