Goodwill of North Georgia recently received a generous grant of $300k from the Coca-Cola Foundation to help serve women in non-traditional industries. The grant will provide workforce training programs for women to enter non-traditional occupations (those occupations with fewer than 20% women in the field) such as construction trades, maintenance technician, logistics, and I. T. Funding from the Coca-Cola Foundation will ensure all of these programs will continue to be offered at zero cost to the jobseeker. 

Goodwill of North Georgia has reported an 84% surge in enrollment for women in non-traditional occupations since 2020. The organization anticipates a 10% year-over-year increase in women pursuing non-traditional careers for the next five years.

"Each day, we collectively face social challenges that impact women in our community," said a representative from the Coca-Cola Foundation. "These complex problems require bold solutions. Together, the Coca-Cola Foundation and Goodwill of North Georgia are providing the workforce training programs necessary for women to make bold career choices and thrive."

According to a report published by census.gov, the last few years have disproportionally affected women in industries such as in hospitality, food service, and childcare. Furthermore, less affected industries were construction, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing.

 “This program plays an important role in Goodwill’s mission – to put people to work. Last year alone, Goodwill of North Georgia helped connect more than 8,600 women with living wage jobs.”, said Keith Parker, President and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia. "Our training programs offered at zero cost to the jobseeker is just one way Goodwill of North Georgia is working towards helping women find employment in non-traditional workspaces."

To help female participants navigate new work cultures, Goodwill of North Georgia's career services case managers provide additional support specific to women to ensure graduates are ready to start work on an even playing field with their male counterparts. Further support includes physical conditioning training to increase stamina for labor-intensive occupations, training on gender roles, culture, and professional advocacy appropriate in the workplace, and an overview of sexual harassment and anti-discrimination laws and employee rights. 

Over the past five years, Goodwill of North Georgia has provided services to more than 206,000 jobseekers in North Georgia. The organization offers jobseekers 17 career programs at zero cost, including Construction, Custodial, Health, Environmental, Hospitality, Logistics, Maintenance, and the newest program, Electrical Vehicle Supply and Equipment, which recently completed its first training cohort.

"We are delighted to receive this grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation, which will enable us to provide a hand up for women in our community seeking to break into non-traditional roles," said Parker. "With the support of the Coca-Cola Foundation, we can continue to expand our training programs and provide more women with the opportunity to achieve their dreams and build better futures for themselves and their families." 

For more information about Goodwill of North Georgia and its career training programs, which are offered at zero cost to the jobseeker, please visit its website at www.goodwillng.org.