They can do it
In his “Taking Stock” column in the current issue of Woodshop News, editor Tod Riggio discussed DeWalt’s Grow the Trades Grant program. Over a five-year period, the program will award grants to organizations to support their efforts to enlarge the pool of stilled tradesmen — and women.
In his “Taking Stock” column in the current issue of Woodshop News, editor Tod Riggio discussed DeWalt’s Grow the Trades Grant program. Over a five-year period, the program will award grants to organizations to support their efforts to enlarge the pool of stilled tradesmen — and women.
It’s no secret that the trades are hurting for workers, and it’s always bothered me — I’ve read in the pages of Woodshop News, just as you have, how shop owners struggle to find good employees. So ,the idea is to fund training for prospective workers, especially in the construction industry where not just a handful, but hundreds of thousands or skilled tradespeople are needed. Where are these workers? A lot of them are part of groups often not considered or that otherwise have a hard time building a career in the trades, including women, transitioning military members and others.
I followed up on Tod’s column to learn more about the program, and from the DeWalt website followed a link to an op-ed piece by Maria Ford, president of Commercial, Industrial and Farm & Hardware for DeWalt’s parent company, Stanley Black & Decker.
Ford opens by evoking the uncertainty and needs America felt during World War II. Men were going off to war, leaving the economy (and necessities of the fighting forces) in desperate need of a skilled workforce. Nontraditional workers were desperately needed, and “Rosie the Riveter” was the spirit that brought them out in force to learn skills and take the men’s places during the crisis. It worked. Jobs were filled. Things got done.
Of course, when the men came home, women were thanked and pretty much told to go home and raise families, as there were plenty of workers now ready to hang up their helmets and get back on the job.
Circumstances are different, but today’s need for skilled workers recalls the years from 1939-1945. As women were targeted then to learn trades and join the ranks of skilled workers, the DeWalt grant program aims to encourage and help women fill trade jobs again.
I wasn’t around during WWII, but as a history buff I’ve always been a fan of Rosie the Riveter. I couldn’t be more pleased to see that she’s back, along with her spirit to get things done.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.
