Feature Project:
Feature Project: Accelerate! is a free, sevenweek program that exposes women ranging from entry- level workers to CEOs, to career opportunities and options in design, engineering, the construction trades. Designed to be modular and interactive with information delivered on a number of levels to the participants, Project: Accelerate! is a fast-track opportunity to sample options, reinforce experience and expose strengths. “Women are just as interested in careers in construction. The construction industry brings women the closest to parity in earning potential. We, as an industry, need to be innovative and look at underrepresented communities, and that means women,” said Rita Brown, Founder and National Director of Project Accelerate! Women who are interested in a particular area can move into an apprenticeship after completing the eight-week Project: Accelerate! program, which is sponsored by a coalition of more than a dozen businesses, trade unions, and colleges. “This is all industry funded. We build that pipeline connecting people to opportunities with the cooperation of our partners. We help ourselves to move forward,” said Brown. [article and photos] Dan McKernan, IUOE Local 324 18 INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER SUMMER 2017 19
