Women In The Trades
The PTTC is Committed to Inclusivity
The PTTC is proud to be an equal opportunity institution. The women in our community receive the same respect, training and pay as their male counterparts.
"PTTC gave me more confidence in what I am doing. When I first started I didn't know anything about plumbing or using tools in general. And I learned everything at the school."
ASTER
Journey Level Plumber
ASTER
meet SABRINA
Sabrina is a journey level plumber, having recently graduated from the apprentice program.
Her advice to women considering a career in the trades, "this is the best thing you can do with your life! I can't express how wonderful this has been for me."
Straight From the Source
Hear directly from some of our female apprentices at PTTC.
"Knowing my work has gone into building this area, an absolute thrill."
SABRINA
PTTC GRADUATE
"It's really great when you're walking and little kids look up at you and
are like 'Wow! She's a
construction
worker.' It's just
a really cool
feeling."
CHRISTINE
STEAMFITTING
YEAR 4
KELLY
HVACR
YEAR 2
"I actually have a career path. I enjoy going to different places. It's a
totally different
opportunity
that I was not
expecting in
my life, but
I'm glad I
did it."
Common Questions
For the lucrative career, free tuition, no college debt, and community!
Why should women join PTTC?
For the lucrative career, free tuition, no college debt, and community.
Why should women consider the trades as a career?
A career in the trades can afford women financial independence and a great sense of empowerment in being a part of a team that builds structures within their community.
Which programs are available for women?
All of our programs are available to women and all of our classes are co-ed!
What is on-the-job training?
As an apprentice at the PTTC you will work during the day and attend classes in the evenings. Starting hourly wage for apprentices is $30+
Learn more about our apprenticeship
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Helping An Icon
Yesterday Cecilia received an urgent call for help from Rosie Marian Sousa, 96, regarding another Rosie Marian Wynn, 96. Marian Wynn had a water main leak and was out of water for 3 days waiting for help from various people. After some coordination, Cecilia went over and fixed Marian's plumbing problem within hours.
It is an honor to serve the trailblazer that made it ok for women to work in construction.
We are super proud of Cecilia, who was able to give back to the community, especially to a woman pipe welder from 78 years ago.
Resources
An affiliate of NABTU - North America's Building Trades, Tradeswomen Build Nations is the largest gathering of tradeswomen world wide.
Their conferences allow women from all trades to network with one another, feel comradery as well as attend workshops and panels.
2022 is the 12th Annual conference and will be held in Las Vegas!
Tradeswomen Build Nations is not just a conference, but a supportive network of not just workers but also union leaders, apprenticeship coordinators, contractors and politicians.
Pride and a Paycheck is a free journal written by tradeswomen. The quarterly publication provides a breadth writing, poetry and art from tradeswomen nation wide.
Within the pages of Pride and a Paycheck Magazine are the voices of women in the trades. They are Blue Jean Pocket Writers. They are worker writers. Their words are Work Pieces: fundamental tools serving the most useful purpose of telling the world what it’s like to be blue collar females. Their ideas are change agents working in the repair departments of human conditions. Pushing and nudging consciousness to higher levels of thought while trashing the obsolete and dangerously backward ideas. Their bodies direct their words. Their actions shine a spotlight on the future of women in the trades of any ethnicity and sexual identity. They tell it like it is….and like it should be. They recruit and support sisters from the INSIDE. They are a beacon in the Worker Writer genre and Pride and a Paycheck is privileged to publish their work pieces.
Doro, S. (2022). Why is There a "Pride and a Paycheck"? Pride and a Paycheck , 24(3), 24–24. Retrieved from https://www.prideandapaycheck.com/.
In 2023 Pride and a Paycheck will celebrate it's 25th year of syndication.
The United Association is the umbrella organization for Local 393 and the Pipe Trades Training Center.
The United Association has been providing the best training in the world to their members for over 60 years. Their five year apprenticeship, journey worker training, yearly instructor training and certifications programs exceed industry standards.
The United Association is an advocate for women in the trades. They recognize "that women bring a unique set of skills and work ethic that are invaluable to our industry. Women bring a limitless potential to the UA."