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By Melody Finnemore

By Melody Finnemore

Oregon Tradeswomen held its signature Career Fair again for the first time since 2019, and Girls Build has enrolled the most summer campers in its history as the two organizations ramp up efforts to introduce girls and young women to careers in the construction industry.

The two-day Career Fair took place in May and hosted 1,080 middle and high school students and 153 teachers and chaperones from 70 school groups across Oregon and Washington. The event’s second day attracted 811 women and their families, according to Mary Ann Naylor, communications and marketing director for Oregon Tradeswomen.

During the event, 73 volunteers contributed 386 hours. With the support of 31 sponsors, the Career Fair showcased 90 businesses, unions, community colleges, government agencies and other organizations, as well as 31 interactive exhibits and hands-on workshops.

In addition to holding pre-apprenticeship training classes in Portland, The Dalles and Springfield and its Summer Tool + Gear Swap, Oregon Tradeswomen on Aug. 31 will launch a new page on its website called Career Navigation that will provide resources, videos and other information. Its first virtual session is scheduled for Sept. 5 with an Introduction to Apprenticeships and a Q&A session with Oregon Tradeswomen staff.

“Not everyone needs our full program, and by offering information in a real-time, online setting, folks can have direct access to Oregon tradeswomen staff, ask questions and get individualized assistance in taking the next steps,” Naylor said.

On Sept. 29, Oregon Tradeswomen will hold its Build With Us! 2023 Blue-Collar Gala & Industry Awards. The fundraising event also honors individuals nominated for the Woman on the Rise and Wanda Hall Legacy awards.

“Although our monthly social hours have been in-person for a while now, each month we’re reminded of how important it is for our trades-worker community to have a space – and a place – to gather face to face in real time,” Naylor said. “We see new connections being made for recent graduates, as well as reconnections for those who have been out in the field for much longer.”Katie Hughes, executive director of Girls Build, said her organization has grown from hosting 80 campers over two weeks in its first year of offering summer camps to this year hosting 440 girls over eight weeks in six locations across the state.

“We have so many more campers this year because demand is so high for our programs,” Hughes said, noting the 240 spots in its Portland camp sold out in less than a minute and a half. “We want to have more equal opportunities, so we increased our spots and we increased our programming.”

Hughes said the support of organizations such as NECA, IBEW and the Portland Water Bureau allowed it to offer more workshops and serve a larger number of girls interested in the trades. Girls Build’s programming teaches the basics of carpentry, electrical, plumbing, roofing, painting, auto and bike mechanics, sheet metal and more.

“The other thing we’re excited about now that we’re in less of a COVID world is that we’re able to open up our classes during the school year and build more partnerships in Portland and throughout the state,” she said, referring to its after-school workshops.

Girls Build serves campers ranging in age from eight to 15, and has established an internship program that allows students who have aged out of the program to come back and work for Girls Build so they can teach younger campers what they have learned.

Since its beginning in 2016, Girls Build has taught more than 2,600 girls through its summer camps and after-school programming. It has awarded more than 625 partial or full scholarships, and invited more than 85 foster care kids to attend summer camp for free

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Melody Finnemore is a Portland-area freelance writer.