Construction industry offers ‘great career opportunities’ for women: Power Up founder
Power Up Inc. is at the forefront of removing the barriers in a traditionally male-dominated field by educating women to consider working in the construction industry.
The non-profit organization partners with industry leaders to educate young girls and their mothers to diversify the construction industry workforce and encourage more women to consider careers as welders, pipe fitters and other skilled professions.
“Women do want these jobs in construction,” Power Up founder Mittie Cannon told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on Monday.
Women working in construction account for 1.3 percent of the entire U.S. workforce in 2015, according to Labor Department statistics. As of Dec. 31, 2016, approximately 939,000 women were employed in various occupation sectors of the construction industry, making up 9.1 percent of the construction industry in the U.S.
“Women do want these jobs in construction.”
Cannon, who started her career in the construction industry as an electrical helper in her early 20s, said she discovered the best-kept secret in construction: opportunity.
“I have been on a mission to tell other women about these great career opportunities ever since,” she said.
The program blends academics and hands-on activities engaging girls from grades pre-K through 12 to learn such tasks as pipe fitting, welding, carpentry and more.
“Most of the times the girls are performing tasks and they don’t even realize they are performing those tasks,” Cannon said on “Varney & Company.”
Power Up is funded by private donations and the Associated Builders and Contractors, a national U.S. trade association representing the non-union construction industry.