A sticker that reads “gender roles are dead” is on the helmet of a construction crew member working on new retaining wall, May 23, 2024, in Tigard.
Courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation
Construction jobs are a historically white, male dominated field. A crew works on the Hall Boulevard overpass, May 23, 2024, in Beaverton.
Courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation
A sticker that reads “gender roles are dead” is on the helmet of a construction crew member working on new retaining wall, May 23, 2024, in Tigard.
Courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation
A statewide effort to recruit and retain a more diverse construction workforce in Oregon is beginning to pay off, with women and people of color making up more than half of all new apprentices in construction-related jobs in 2022 and 2023. That’s according to a new report evaluating the Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries’ Highway Construction Workforce Development Program.
Among other resources, the program offers career exploration classes, pre-apprenticeship training and financial assistance to people interested in jobs commonly associated with highway construction. That includes trades like ironworkers, cement masons, electricians, carpenters and laborers. The Federal Highway Administration provides the funding.
