LACMTA turns to women to build Los Angeles

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
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  Twenty-one women graduated from the first Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) all-female construction boot camp as part of the Women Build Metro Los Angeles program.

Six weeks of training were held at Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC) facilities in downtown Los Angeles. The boot camp trained participants on heavy lifting, shoveling and wheelbarrow use, among other activities.

“This is an excellent and unique opportunity for women to enter the predominantly male world of construction with support, training and encouragement from LACMTA,” said Metro Board Member Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker. “LACMTA meets its goal of hiring women for our construction projects. And women gain a secure, well-paid job that is career oriented.”

In early 2012, the LACMTA Board of Directors approved the Project Labor Agreement and Construction Career Policy. Both policies were designed to help more people get jobs on LACMTA construction projects. LACMTA and the agency’s partners and stakeholders have exceeded or met hiring goals of those policies.

LACMTA’s program also requires contractors to comply with Executive Order 11246, which includes a goal of 6.9 percent female participation in what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. Female participation is now 3.22 percent. The 21 women that graduated are a step in the right direction to assist LACMTA in reaching this federal participation requirement.

“More and more women are being introduced to a world they may not have seen as a real possibility,” said LACMTA Chief Executive Officer Phil Washington. “This is only one example of what LACMTA can accomplish when building major transit construction projects. We’re providing women with training and support that move beyond traditional careers.”

LACMTA created a task force to recruit qualified women candidates for apprenticeship and placement with all trades on construction projects.

The first step came last November, with a symposium at the LATTC campus and continued with the six-week construction boot camp. The final step will be an interview and placement process that will take place after the luncheon/graduation ceremony.

LACMTA says it will continue tracking the progress of participants for one year after the graduation ceremony to determine the success of this effort and to plan future endeavors.

 

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