Home Depot supports women in construction

The Home Depot Foundation announced an investment of $200,000 in trade school scholarships for women, in celebration of Women in Construction Week, March 5-11.

“The Home Depot Foundation has invested more than half of a million dollars in trade school scholarships to extend support beyond our training programs and help bridge the opportunity gap for more students seeking high-earning careers,” said Shannon Gerber, The Home Depot Foundation’s executive director.

There are nearly 400,000 open construction roles nationwide, and The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics reports only about 11% of construction workers are women, said the company.

The Home Depot Foundation’s Path to Pro Scholarship for Women will provide $4,000 in financial assistance to women entering or currently enrolled in construction trades programs, said the retailer.

“We’re proud to have trained more than 39,000 trades professionals and awarded nearly 200 trade school scholarships to-date, and we’re thrilled to continue that momentum with an intentional focus on women,” said Gerber.

In line with its mission to serve U.S. military veterans, The Home Depot Foundation said it will partner with various veteran service organizations to help identify eligible veterans and veteran family members for this scholarship opportunity.  

SkillPointe Foundation will partner to administer scholarships nationwide and recipients will be selected based on requirements including:  

• Candidate must be female;
• Candidate must be a high school graduate or have a GED equivalent;
• Candidate must intend to enroll or be currently enrolled in an accredited construction trade college or postsecondary program in the U.S. 

“Through our partnership with The Home Depot Foundation, we’ve provided skills training scholarships for aspiring construction industry workers from coast to coast,” said Alvin Townley, executive director of The SkillPointe Foundation. “We are honored to help increase the presence of women in the trades industry.”

The Home Depot Foundation said it has pledged to invest $50 million to fill the skilled labor gap and is on a continued mission to help diversify the trades industry through its Path to Pro programs available to youth, high school and trade school students, underserved communities and separating U.S. military service members.