Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Technical Assistance Grant Program

This program aims to provide technical assistance (TA) to employers (which may include public sector entities) and labor unions in the United States and its territories to encourage employment of women in both apprenticeable occupations and nontraditional occupations (A/NTO), specifically in the following ways:

Developing (establishing, expanding, and/or enhancing) pre-apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship,

Registered Apprenticeship (as defined in Appendix B "Acronyms and Definitions"), or other nontraditional skills training programs designed to prepare women for careers in A/NTO;

Providing ongoing orientations or other resources for employers, unions, and workers on creating a successful environment for women in A/NTO; and/or

Setting up support groups, facilitating networks, and/or providing supportive services (as defined in section IV.E.3) for women in A/NTO to improve their retention.

Eligibility

To be eligible for funds under this grant program, an applicant must be a community-based organization (CBO) as defined in Appendix B. In awarding grants, the Department will give priority to applications that meet the following criteria per the WANTO Act legislation (the application requirements for this grant can be found in Section IV.B):

Demonstrate experience preparing women to gain employment in A/NTO;

Demonstrate experience working with the business community to prepare them to place women in A/NTO;

Have tradeswomen or women in nontraditional occupations as active members of the organization, as either employees or board members; and

Have experience delivering TA specifically as defined above, including developing (establishing, expanding and/or enhancing) pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, or other nontraditional skills training programs designed to prepare women for careers in A/NTO; providing ongoing orientations or other resources for employers, unions, and workers on creating a successful environment for women in A/NTO; and setting up support groups, facilitating networks, and/or providing supportive services for women in A/NTO to improve their retention.

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