Nontraditional Employment for Women
Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island City
Women in New York City Prepare for Clean Energy Jobs with Specialized Training and Services
With help from NYSERDA, Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) offers women who meet certain criteria the training and certifications needed for jobs in the green construction industry.
Founded in 1978, Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) prepares women for careers in the building and construction trades, including public utilities, transportation, green jobs, and building maintenance and operations industries. These jobs offer good pay, good benefits, and room to grow.
NEW’s pre-apprenticeship training program is nationally known. It offers job placement as well as “wrap-around services,” which include housing and childcare referrals and support, job interview preparation, and access to tools and equipment.
Women who live in historically underserved areas of New York City and who meet certain State income requirements are eligible for NEW programs.
Training Locations:
Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island City
(New York County, Kings County, and Queens County)
People Trained:
86, as of July 2025
NYSERDA Program:
Workforce Development and Training
NEW’s Green Collar Prep Program
Source: Getty Images.
Through its “Green Collar Prep” program, NEW, with support from NYSERDA, is training and preparing up to 175 students for opportunities in today’s workforce. At least 75% of program graduates will place in green jobs in the construction, building maintenance and operations, energy, and transportation industries.
NEW’s Green Collar Prep curriculum includes:
- Preparation for the Industry
- Basic Construction Principles
- Career and Employment Preparation
- Soft Skills and Wellness
- Trades Math
- Overview of the changing climate, as applies to LEED Criteria (LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building rating system)
- Green Building Calculations, including Geothermal Pumps
- Hands-On Skills Training
- Basic Green Construction (Electrical, Plumbing, and Carpentry, plus coursework on HVAC and Clean Energy, Air Source and Ground Source Heat Pumps, and Heat Pumps for Domestic Hot Water)
- Site Safety
Program graduates enter the workforce with:
- Certifications recognized by the New York State Department of Labor, which enables direct entry into the labor market
- Federal Occupational Safety and Health Organization (OSHA) certifications required by construction industry employers
After graduation, NEW participants keep on learning. The program reports participants have earned these types of certifications:
- Solar One Certificate of Completion
- GPRO (Green Professional) Certification
- Site Safety Training (SST) and Certification
- OSHA 30
- OSHA Ergonomics for Women in Construction
Supporting New York City Women
NEW supports women throughout their trades journey and prepares them for today’s jobs while lowering the barrier to traditionally male-dominated industries.
Wrap-around support services that are available to participants include:
- Connecting graduates to advanced training classes
- Notifying graduates of job openings and apprenticeship recruitment opportunities
- Ensuring participants complete applications and exam registrations correctly
- Ensuring that tests and requirements leading to certifications are complete
- Resume preparation and interviewing practice
- Transportation assistance, as needed
- Dues assistance upon placement in apprenticeship program, as needed
Participant Profile
Kim is 39 years old, a child of immigrants, and a California native. Prior to enrolling at NEW, Kim was an apprentice with Grow NYC, earning $17 hourly. While she enjoyed working with her hands, it was a seasonal position, so she found herself unemployed during the winter. In January 2024, Kim enrolled in Green Collar Prep and completed training in March.
She worked with NEW's employment team and was referred to a pattern apprenticeship program to interview in the summer. She did exceptionally well and was accepted into Local 15 Operating Engineers shortly thereafter. Her pay now is $28 hourly, with full benefits.
NEW is continuing to work with Kim during her transition to employment; on a recent visit to NEW, Kim thought about her long-term goals and said: "I could see myself being an instructor in Local 15 and paying it forward by coming back and talking to NEW students about how the union has changed my life. I feel lucky to work with another NEW graduate named Bridgette and we look out for each other."
NEW in Action
As of July 2025, 117 individuals have started training and 86 have graduated. 58 graduates are from historically underserved communities and 28 meet the State’s classification of “priority populations.” Priority populations include veterans, single parents, and others.
Interested in Learning More?
Find out about NEW’s Green Collar Prep program by contacting Julie Chan, Director of Institutional Giving, at [email protected] or (646) 685-8908. Participants must live in the New York City region during the 2-year project period.
Learn more about how NYSERDA can fund your own clean energy training program, visit NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Workforce Development and Training program page, or email [email protected].