History
Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) prepares, trains, and places women in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades, helping women achieve economic independence and a secure future for themselves and their families. NEW is a sector-based workforce development program that prepares women for careers in the construction, transportation, energy, and facilities maintenance industries. NEW focuses on skilled, unionized jobs in the trades with starting wages averaging $19 per hour, benefits, and a path to higher-wage employment. NEW primarily serves low-income minority women from all five boroughs in New York City. These careers enable NEW graduates to provide a secure future for themselves and their families.
Specialties
The number of women construction workers in New York City has grown substantially as a result of a coordinated effort between NEW, labor unions, contractors, and government. With a commitment by these partners to place women in 15 percent of all new apprenticeship slots, more than 3,000 NEW graduates have found work as electricians, carpenters, plumbers, painters, ironworkers, operating engineers, and sheet metal workers since 2005. These women are changing their lives and the skyline of New York City.