In honor of Women’s History Month, and in pursuit of expanding workforce opportunities for economically disadvantaged young women, Pittsburgh Job Corps Center held its first Women at Work open house on Friday, March 10.   

Pittsburgh First Lady Michelle Gainey was the keynote speaker at the event, which included a tour of campus and a panel discussion with Pittsburgh Job Corps students and graduates, moderated by Pittsburgh Professional Women Executive Director Beth Caldwell.

“Meeting and interacting with the young women learning and training at Job Corps was moving and impactful,” Gainey said. “Job Corps is an incredible resource for young women throughout the greater Pittsburgh area, and certainly one that I will be promoting as an option for those interested in gaining essential skills to begin their careers.”

Caldwell underscored the importance of networking opportunities for young women through programs like Job Corps: “Today more than ever, it's important for women to come together and network in order to help one another find quality careers and succeed in them,” she said.

The event highlighted career training opportunities available to women at Pittsburgh Job Corps, from medical support training areas to pre-apprenticeship programs in nontraditional careers like HVAC, electrical and construction.  

The campus also offers co-enrollment opportunities with area community colleges (Allegheny, Butler, Beaver) and childcare support through partnership with Head Start. Job Corps is free for eligible students ages 16–24. 

“The Pittsburgh Job Corps campus was incredibly honored to be joined by Michelle Gainey, Beth Caldwell, and our other distinguished guests today,” Pittsburgh Center Director Bob Gottschalk said. “As a father of three young ladies myself, empowering young women to take control of their education and career future is essential to create the next workforce generation.”

Job Corps is a U.S. Department of Labor career technical training program that also provides basic health care, career counseling, transition support and other wraparound services. Students may either live on campus or commute daily for training.   

The Pittsburgh campus offers 11 career training areas, including four pre-apprenticeship programs: Nursing Assistant; Certified Medical Assistant; Security and Protective Services; Culinary Arts; Building Construction Technology; Electrical; Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning; *Heavy Equipment Operations; *Heavy Equipment Mechanics; *Cement Masonry; and *Highway Heavy Construction. (*pre-apprenticeship program)  

“Today was an inspiring day,” Katrina Koenig, Pittsburgh Job Corps student, said. “It’s encouraging to hear stories of women that graduated from Job Corps and are now successful. The ‘Women at Work’ event gave me hope and motivation to continue my education and career journey but to also take advantage of everything Job Corps has to offer.”