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Assemblymember Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) presented House Resolution 17 in honor of women in carpentry on Monday, March 24 during Women’s History Month.
The Southwest Mountain States Carpenters Training Fund’s Bridging Outstanding Opportunities with Tradeswomen Skills (B.O.O.T.S.) is a four-week pre-Apprenticeship program to empower women who are considering becoming union carpenters.
The program is an introduction to carpentry, focusing on safety, math, framing, concrete form building and more. Across all apprenticeship programs in California, only 2.6 percent of apprentices are women. The B.O.O.T.S program has 376 women enrolled and 74 percent are hired by signatory contractors.
“Nationally, women comprise only three to four percent of the building trade’s workforce. The BOOTS program is blazing a trail and encouraging more women to train with our trades in California,” said Assemblymember Dixon. “It is an honor to highlight the opportunity presented by this program, and I hope more women will sign up to learn these highly specialized skills.”
Members from the Southwest Mountain States Training Fund, including Assistant Director Paula Resa, and recent graduate of the B.O.O.T.S program and constituent of AD 72, Sierra Killey, joined the Assemblymember on the Assembly Floor on Monday to accept the Assembly Resolution.
“I am proud to honor such an incredible program and a new graduate with HR 17,” added Assemblymember Dixon. “Encouraging women to join the trades paves one more pathway to financial stability and future success.”
Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, is a pragmatic businesswoman and former Newport Beach Mayor, who represents the 72nd Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods and Lake Forest.