
From GRIT Girls To Skilled Tradeswomen: Missoula Program Makes Strides
Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On Tuesday’s KGVO Talk Back show, our guests for the monthly Missoula ECON 101 program hosted by the Missoula Economic Partnership included Business Initiatives Director Nicole Rush, who introduced Nolee Anderson from Lewistown, who heads up the Missoula College GRIT (Girls Represented in Trades) program.
Rush began by introducing the purpose of the GRIT program, to recruit and train women for the building trades in Montana.
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“94 percent of contractors of Montana report some difficulty in hiring and recruiting new workers into their industry and nationwide, we have 1 million fewer tradespeople than we did in 2007,” began Rush.
Rush said the construction business has exploded over the last few years, making the training and hiring of women on the job site so vital in Montana.
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“Today, we have the complete opposite problem,” she said. “Those skills are highly in demand,” she said. ‘We’re seeing huge investments across the state with infrastructure and in renewable energy, which is one of the reasons why we partnered with Missoula College to develop a new program for adult women who are interested in really getting serious about going into this field (of construction).”
We were also on the phone with Nolee Anderson in Lewistown, who now heads up the Missoula College GRIT program.
“Once I found out there was a trade school in Missoula, as an alternative to a four year university degree, it was heaven sent for me,” began Anderson. “I fit in really well with that trade school. We had a great two year program and I learned how to do all sides of construction, from concrete and flatwork to foundations. We built a house on site out at the west campus in Missoula, so we got to do framing, the roofing and the siding. We finished the entire house in those two years and I haven’t left the industry since then. It’s been a really great time.”
Get More Details About the GRIT Program
Anderson spoke specifically about the GRIT program.
“GRIT is Girls Representing in Trades,” she said. “It is a young girl education program for middle and high school young women. It started with the Missoula YMCA and has been passed on to the Missoula College. We focus on teaching trade skills to young girls, along with carpentry skills, measuring, power tool skills and we have also done some welding classes in the past."
Get more information about the GRIT program here.
Click the link on our KGVO App to listen to the entire Missoula ECON 101 program.
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Gallery Credit: KC