In the Media

WAWIT Graduate featured in Washington Times article.

WAWIT Graduate on WJLA

"If I hadn’t gotten laid off and seen that flyer at the Unemployment Office I might never have found out about the Washington Area Women in the Trades (WAWIT) program, “ says Stacy Taylor, one of 17 Class 7 WAWIT graduates to receive their certificates on Thursday, March 26th at the Charles Sumner School. 

Taylor, 35, is a single mother of 2, ages 6 and 11 years. “I worked for a local Supermarket chain for five years as an Assistant Front End Manager and was doing okay moneywise before I got laid off. But my heart wasn’t in it. I’ve always done well in math and loved electronics, studied for 3 years-- but never knew there was a program with people who could help me get jobs doing what I love.” Taylor benefits from a strong family support system and remembers being told by her Auntie that, “You can do any job a man can do.” Always inquisitive and wanting to understand the why and how of things, Taylor contrasts her WAWIT experience with her last job. She says, “At my job, when I asked a question, people told mr they would get back to me and then maybe forgot but in the WAWIT program, they answer right away. This shows me I matter to them and makes me feel good being here.”

“The WAWIT program has offered Ms. Taylor the opportunity to meet with employers and union training providers so she can work in an industry she loves where she can make a good living for her family,” says Alice Drew, WAWIT Program Director. Taylor has registered to take entrance exams for sheet metal, plumbing and labor’s union apprenticeship programs in the next few weeks. She adds, “I can do anything I set my mind to –the WAWIT program has made me really focus on my career goals and turn a dream into reality.”

The Washington Area Women in the Trades (WAWIT) Program is a collaborative workforce development initiative of The YWCA National Capital Area, the Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO and Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) that provides 7 weeks of pre-vocational, pre-apprenticeship training, adult basic education and 12 months of social services follow-up. An estimated 100 graduates will go on to entry-level jobs in union apprenticeship programs as part of a Federal Department of Labor (DOL) grant.

The Keynote Speaker for the Class 7 WAWIT graduation was J. Ronald DeJuliis, Commissioner for the Licensing and Regulation for the Maryland Department of Labor. 

Ms. Taylor's story was recently featured on WJLA/Channel 7 News.