Apprenticeship Programs Land $2M+

by Mona Mahadevan

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro: “Women have not been represented in the trades in the way they should be.”

For two years, Jasmine Villaneuva suffered from abdominal pain she could not afford to treat. When her gallbladder ruptured and sent her into emergency surgery, she began searching for a job that would help her pay for preventive medical care so she would never need to ignore her pain again.

During a press conference on Monday, she praised the skilled trades for giving her the time, salary, and benefits to care for her health. She stood beside officials at the Workforce Alliance center at 370 James St., where U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut Department of Labor Commissioner Dante Bartolomeo, and Mayor Justin Elicker celebrated more than $2 million in federal funding for the Workforce Alliance.

The New Haven-based workforce development group said the money will help more than 170 people learn new skills in the construction, building trades, and manufacturing industries.

Of the $2.25 million in funding, $750,000 is through the state Department of Labor’s Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) program. Workforce Alliance Director of Special Grants & Projects Jill Watson said the money would be used to launch the Workforce Alliance Apprenticeship Accelerator: a program that helps women enter paid apprenticeships in the skilled trades. Watson estimates the funds will support 40 women interested in apprenticeships by helping them buy tools, get transportation, and pay for childcare. (Wages themselves are usually funded by individual employers.)

The remaining $1.5 million was distributed by the state Department of Labor, which received $8 million in grants to support skill-building programs. Watson said the money would be used to help train people that currently work at federally qualified health centers, as well as training 40 new journeymen. For example, she said a call center worker could be trained to become a dental assistant.

“Women have not been represented in the trades in the way they should be,” said DeLauro, who helped secure the federal funds and who is the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, “not just because they are women, but because they are skilled.”

Villaneuva, 37, is currently operating an excavator to construct an Amazon fulfillment center in Waterbury.

She began her career working 80 hours per week at Walmart and McDonald’s. Struggling to make ends meet, she turned to the construction industry in 2012.

“When you go in [construction] and you realize it is a male-dominated field,” she told the Independent, “it’s just like, okay, I have to show up and show out.” She focused on growing her skills so her work would speak for itself, she said.

As part of her resume-building, she entered a one-year training program organized by Workforce Alliance. During that year, she discovered Local 478, which helped her find a four-year, paid apprenticeship program in 2017.

The program taught her how to operate heavy equipment and weld. She also obtained a Class A License.

While the work is hard on her body, she said, “All work is hard on your body.” In contrast to her previous positions, she works half as much and has health benefits.

Through the skilled trades, she has been able to buy her own home in Waterbury.

What Villaneuva most likes about her job is the “independence,” “flexibility,” and “financial freedom.”

“I like that I know that when I’m in my 60s, I’ll be able to retire with a fund and insurance,” she added.

Jasmine Villanueva, CT Department of Labor Commissioner Dante Bartolomeo, and U.S. Rep. Rosa De Lauro.