WANTO FAQs 2026.pdf

U.S. Department of Labor - Women’s Bureau 2026 Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Technical

Assistance Grant Program Frequently Asked Questions

June 2026

1. What is the purpose of this grant program?

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant helps recruit, train, and retain more women in quality pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs and encourages them to pursue nontraditional occupations.

2. What types of technical assistance may be provided with these grant funds?

Applying organizations must provide one or more of the following types of technical assistance:

• Developing (establishing, expanding, and/or enhancing) pre-apprenticeships that lead to Registered Apprenticeships; Registered Apprenticeships; or other nontraditional skills training programs designed to prepare women for careers in A/NTO

• Providing ongoing orientations or other resources for employers, unions, and workers on creating a successful environment for women in A/NTO and/or

• Setting up support groups, facilitating networks, and/or providing supportive services for women in A/NTO to improve their retention.

3. Which occupations does the grant cover?

The grant covers apprenticeable occupations which must:

• Involve skills that are customarily learned in a practical way through a structured, systematic program of on-the-job supervised learning;

• Be clearly identified and commonly recognized throughout an industry;

• Involve the progressive attainment of manual, mechanical or technical skills and knowledge; and

• Require related instruction to supplement the on-the-job learning.

Nontraditional occupations refer to industries where women account for less than 25 percent of all persons employed in a single occupational group.

4. Is this grant program focused solely on encouraging women’s employment in the skilled trades, such as construction?

No. Applicants may propose to provide technical assistance to support women’s full and effective participation in apprenticeable and non-traditional occupations. Past grantees have served women in a variety of different industries. In the FY26 FOA, WB is providing preference, through bonus points, to applicants that expand opportunities for women in Registered Apprenticeships and occupations in Advanced Manufacturing, AI, IT, mining, and Shipbuilding and Defense Industrial Base industries.

5. Who is eligible to receive a grant?

Grant recipients must be community-based organizations and must submit a letter detailing how the applicant meets the criteria of a CBO.

For the purposes of this grant program, a community-based organization is defined as:

A private non-profit organization (which may include a faith-based organization) that is representative of a community or a significant segment of a community, that has demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in the field of workforce development, and that has demonstrated experience administering programs that train women for apprenticeable occupations or other nontraditional occupations.

The letter demonstrating CBO eligibility must include:

1. How long the applicant has been in operation and during that time, how many years of experience the applicant has administering programs that train women for apprenticeable or nontraditional occupations. Please also provide details on this experience, i.e., the specific work done in this area and how many women have been served each year as well as how many cohorts of women-centered training the applicant has taught or how many women are typically in each training cohort.

2. How many years of experience the applicant has working with the business community to create successful environments for women in apprenticeships or nontraditional occupations. Please also provide details on this experience.

3. How many years of experience the applicant has in setting up support groups, facilitating networks, and/or providing supportive services for women to improve their retention in job related training for apprenticeable or nontraditional occupations.

6. Are supportive services an allowable use of grant funds?

Yes. Grantees may spend no more than 15 percent for supportive services to ensure women’s participation in technical assistance activities (e.g., outreach sessions, orientation sessions, focus groups, support groups, and pre-apprenticeable/nontraditional occupations skills training) intended to assist labor unions and employers with increasing and retaining women in Registered Apprenticeships and NTOs. Examples of supportive services may include allowances for childcare, housing, transportation, and/or language assistance services to ensure participation at technical assistance activities; job-related equipment and gear to the extent it is provided as a consequence of a technical assistance activity (e.g., a training session on work-related equipment that improves women workers’ ability to be employed or retained in a A/NTO); or job-related training tuition costs to the extent the training is provided as technical assistance to an employer or labor union. Please note that while supportive services dollars may be used towards ensuring women’s participation at pre-apprenticeable/nontraditional occupations skills training, these funds may not be used to support women’s continued enrollment in apprenticeship programs. In offering supportive services, grantees should also provide counseling and resource referral so that participants are aware of services and funding sources that could provide the supports needed for women to be successful in apprenticeship and NTOs in the long term.

7. Are past and current WANTO grant recipients eligible?

Yes, with the exception of those that received a WANTO grant in fiscal year 2025.

8. What is the amount of grant funding an applicant may apply for?

An applicant may apply for a grant between $350,000 and $750,000.

9. What application materials are required?

Applications submitted in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement must consist of four separate and distinct parts:

a. Form SF-424 (“Application for Federal Assistance”);

b. Project Budget;

c. Project Narrative; and

d. Attachments to the Project Narrative, including the required letter demonstrating CBO eligibility.

10. When are the applications due?

Applications are due on June 21, 2026, no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). This is a firm deadline. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered. You must submit your application electronically at https://www.grants.gov. No hardcopy applications submitted by mail or hand delivery (including overnight delivery) will be accepted for this funding opportunity. In addition, applications sent by e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (FAX) will not be accepted.

11. Who can I contact for further questions about the 2026 WANTO Funding Opportunity Announcement?

For further information about this FOA and all technical questions, please email the Women’s Bureau and Office of Grants Management at WB.OGM@dol.gov and specifically reference FOA-WB-26-01. Along with question(s), include a contact name, fax, and phone number.

12. Can we forward required application information separately from our official application submission?

Information should not be forwarded outside of the official application submission.

Information received outside of the official application submission will not be included in or considered during the review process.

13. Where can I find answers to general FAQs about federal grant applications?

The Department’s Employment and Training Administration has a webpage that contains helpful information about application submission and requirements. This webpage is available at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants.

https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants

In addition, the federal government’s grants.gov website provides many useful resources for federal grant applicants including registration instructions, application tracking, applicant tools and tips, and FAQs. These resources are available at:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants.html.

https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants.html