Project purpose: building futures will provide technical assistance (TA) to employers, labor unions, and project owners throughout southern new england, focusing on rhode island

The Department of Labor Women's Bureau awarded Building Futures $1,443,660 on September 30, 2025, under the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Technical Assistance Grant Program (CFDA 17.701) to increase women's enrollment and retention in construction and manufacturing apprenticeships throughout southern New England, with primary focus on Rhode Island.

Building Futures will deliver technical assistance to employers, labor unions, and project owners through four coordinated activities. The organization will develop and operate a pilot Women's Apprenticeship Readiness Program providing basic construction skills training and career introduction across six cohorts, targeting 90 women for enrollment with 78 expected completions. Building Futures will convene its Construction Advisory Council—comprising unions, contractors, project owners, and employer associations—to implement collective impact strategies for improving women's enrollment and retention and worksite conditions. The organization will operate an Apprentice Utilization Program that tracks labor hours performed by women across 55 or more large-scale construction projects and monitors compliance with apprentice utilization agreements, including jobsite interventions. Building Futures will leverage its role as Rhode Island's state apprenticeship agency intermediary to distribute best practices and provide technical assistance to Polaris, Rhode Island's Manufacturing Extension Partnership, to establish new manufacturing Registered Apprenticeship Programs and pre-apprenticeship programs focused on women's recruitment.

The award runs through September 30, 2027, with place of performance in Rhode Island.

Expected outcomes

? 90 women will enroll in and 78 will complete building futures? Women?s apprenticeship readiness program. ? 75 women will enroll in and complete pre-apprenticeship. O 25 women will complete building futures? Construction pre-apprenticeship program (BF200). O 50 women will complete polaris? Pre-apprenticeship program. ? 51 women will enter ntos/registered apprenticeship, securing full-time employment and higher wages. O 21 women will be placed into trade registered apprenticeship programs (85% of BF200 graduates). O 30 women will be placed (60% of polaris graduates) into: 1. Polaris? Manufacturing registered apprenticeship program (13), or, 2. Other manufacturing ntos (17).2 ? 19 construction advisory council members and 16 ribctc trade unions will receive TA to increase enrollment and retention of tradeswomen. ? 1 industry association (polaris) will receive TA from building futures? Apprenticeship rhode island initiative to create new nontraditional registered apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs .

Intended beneficiaries

This program will reach women from underserved communities who face significant employment barriers. Of building futures? BF200 pre-apprenticeship graduates, 78% are black, indigenous, and/or people of color, 49% are justice involved, 37% are formerly incarcerated, and 100% are low income at program entry.