(LANSING, MICHIGAN) - On the first day of Women in Construction Week, Alumni from the Women in Skilled Trades (WIST) Program gathered in Lansing, Michigan to celebrate the program’s current students, recent graduates and those launching their careers after completing the Pre-Apprenticeship Program.

WIST is a free 16-week program that helps Women pursue thriving careers in the historically male-dominated Skilled Trades, like plumbing, electrical work, construction and more through Apprenticeship Readiness Training.

The program was founded in 2016 and has active cohorts across the State in Lansing, Detroit and Flint, with a first Grand Rapids cohort coming soon. 

“Women absolutely belong in the Construction Trades,” said Chong-Anna Canfora, who serves as Executive Director of the Michigan Workforce Development Institute, a division of the Michigan AFL-CIO.

“We’re incredibly proud of the lives WIST has been able to transform and we’re thrilled more and more Women are expressing interest in being part of the sea change happening in the Construction Industry,” Canfora said.