Nonprofit group helping improve local women
West Virginia Women Work! strictly funded through grants

By Katie Wilson
 

FAIRMONT — West Virginia Women Work! is helping local women improve themselves and provide for their families.

The nonprofit group is strictly funded through grants, said group representative Valerie Lentz. While the group is geared for women, help is available for men as well, she said. A staff career advisor helps individuals with résumé writing. The group also provides computer-literacy sessions, Lentz said.

Lentz is the project coordinator for Step Up for Women, a program of WVWW!. The program offers a 10 week course in skilled trades. Participating women learn carpentry and construction as well as basic electrical wiring and welding, Lentz said.

The group is taking applications at this time, but class size is limited. Lentz said organizers will make the class selection by Monday, Sept. 11. Lentz noted the class is offered every fall and spring at the group’s Morgantown offices.

“The purpose of the organization is to get women jobs and for them to be self-sufficient,” Lentz said. “Generally, women that go through the program earn $3 more per hour than those that go through other programs.”

The total course includes training in a variety of areas, from physical fitness to communication. According to course descriptions, the class will spend six weeks learning carpentry skills. The class will build two 10- x 12-foot utility buildings from the bottom up. The class also includes eight days of electrical wiring training and eight days of welding/metal design training.

The students also have a variety of classroom study, from a basic math review to communication and conflict resolution including dealing with sexual harassment.

Participants must attend two days of safety training through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). When the class ends, the students will receive a 10-hour OSHA card.

Students also complete eight hours of job shadowing, learning what it is like to work in the field.

They will attend a gym four days per week throughout the course to build the stamina necessary for construction work, Lentz said.

The organization is a subsidiary of Women Work! the national network for women’s employment in Washington, D.C.

For more information on West Virginia Women Work! or to apply for the Step Up program, contact the organization online at www.wvwomenwork.org or call 596-0114.

E-mail Katie Wilson at kwilson@timeswv.com.