The Use of Mentoring to Promote Well-being for Female SMART Members

Journey-level workers will be trained on effective mentoring techniques, and matched to approximately 100 women apprentices within participating local unions. Mentees will be followed for two years within the mentorship program, with another 100 women apprentices in locals not receiving the mentorship training similarly followed as controls. The impact of participation in mentoring programs will be measured through apprentices' experience of stress, coping mechanisms, safety climate, and retention in the apprenticeship programs. Specifically, the investigators propose to: Aim 1: Develop a mentorship training program for journey-level sheet metal workers to assist women apprentices in navigating the challenges faced by women in trades Aim 2: Disseminate the training and assist locals in developing effective mentorship programs Aim 3: Evaluate the effectiveness of the mentoring programs specified in Aims 1 and 2 Aim 4: Disseminate the best practices for supporting women apprentices in the skilled trades.