The Hampton Roads Workforce Council provides strategic workforce development solutions designed to assist businesses in accessing qualified workers and job seekers in search of suitable job openings and training opportunities to bolster their earning potential. In 2019, the Workforce Council was selected as one of five recipients of the Virginia Department of Labor Women’s Bureau’s Women in Apprenticeships and Non-Traditional Occupations (WANTO) grant.
Utilizing the WANTO grant as well as other funding sources, the Hampton Roads Workforce Council launched the Women in Skilled Careers program (WISC). WISC successfully provided soft skills training for women, connected them to training opportunities, and assisted them with job placements within the maritime industry. With its new iteration, WISC focuses on four pillars: (1) Attracting new female talent to priority skilled career industries, (2) Training and developing diverse female talent to enter skilled careers, (3) Retaining existing talent to upskill our regional workforce, and (4) Providing technical assistance to employers to attract, train, and retain women in pre-apprenticeship, registered apprenticeships, and general employment.
WISC is currently enrolling 100 women in training leading to careers where women are underrepresented enabling them to earn family-sustaining wages in growing local industries such as the maritime industry, building and construction trades, advanced manufacturing, logistics, engineering, information technology, and cybersecurity. Additionally, through partnerships with local employers, the Workforce Council will provide behind-the-scenes tours of these industries to 100 women and educate up to 1,000 women on the benefits of registered apprenticeships and other opportunities to enter skilled careers.
Based on data obtained during the WISC pilot from 2019-2021, focus groups convened in 2022, and the Women in Skilled Careers Summit held in June 2023, in partnership with WHRO’S “Work Like a Girl,” program, access to affordable childcare and transportation were identified as two of the most significant barriers women face while obtaining employment in non-traditional spaces. To help eliminate barriers preventing women from completing the necessary skills training, WISC provides wraparound supportive services to program participants, connecting them to critical resources such as assistance with transportation, childcare, and purchasing uniforms and equipment. WISC also offers participants access to support groups, career coaching, resume writing, interview prep, and job search assistance.
Women who are 18 years of age and older, Hampton Roads residents, have the legal right to work, and are interested in entering a career in a non-traditional space are encouraged to contact ShanKrystal McCaulley, Hampton Roads Workforce Council’s Women in Skilled Careers Program Manager at (757)818-5558 or smccaulley@theworkforcecouncil.org.
About the Author:
ShanKrystal McCaulley is the WISC Program Manager for Hampton Roads Workforce Council. She is responsible for overseeing the Women in Skilled Careers program. Prior to this position, she worked in mental health as well as several male dominated fields to include the US Navy, where she was a supervisor of air traffic control operations in the control tower, the criminal justice system, where she worked for the Florida Department of Corrections, and a private prison where she taught life skills to assist in the re-investment of inmates into the community. She has been employed with Hampton Roads Workforce Council since February 2023.
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