Goodwill of North Georgia received a $300,000 grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation to help serve women in non-traditional industries.
The grant will fund a workforce training program for women to enter non-traditional occupations such as construction trades, maintenance technicians, logistics, and IT. The funding ensures that the programs will be offered at no cost to the jobseeker, according to a Goodwill press release.
An 84 percent surge in enrollment for women in non-traditional occupations has been reported by Goodwill of North Georgia since 2020. A 10 percent year-over-year increase is projected for the next five years.
A non-traditional occupation is classified as having fewer than 20 percent women in that field, the release said.
“This program plays an important role in Goodwill’s mission – to put people to work. Last year alone, Goodwill of North Georgia helped connect more than 8,600 women with living wage jobs,” said Keith Parker, president and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia, according to the release.
Goodwill of North Georgia’s career services case managers provide additional support specific to women to ensure that these graduates are ready to start work on an even playing field with their male counterparts, the release said. The support includes physical conditioning training to increase stamina for labor-intensive occupations, training on gender roles, culture, and professional advocacy appropriate in the workplace, and an overview of sexual harassment and anti-discrimination laws and employee rights.