The Women's Bureau within the U.S. Department of Labor is offering funding to help recruit, train and retain more women in quality pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, and pursue careers in manufacturing, infrastructure, cybersecurity and healthcare, among other industries. The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grant aims to expand pathways for women to enter in, and lead in, all industries.

The grant program will award at least $994,000 to community-based organizations to develop technical assistance to encourage women's employment in underrepresented occupations and pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs. 

In 2016, women accounted for more than half of all workers within several industry sectors, including education and health services (75 percent), financial activities (52 percent), and leisure and hospitality (51 percent), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women accounted for less than half in several industry sectors, including manufacturing (29 percent), agriculture (25 percent), transportation and utilities (24 percent), mining (13 percent) and construction (9 percent). Women account for less than 10 percent of individuals enrolled in apprenticeship programs.