The Non-Traditional Club

Young women in the Non-Traditional Club at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech attended the Women in Trade conference held this fall. This conference is especially geared toward celebrating and encouraging young women who are enrolled in non-traditional career programs. At this conference, the students were provided with an overview of opportunities, and educational workshops that focus on maintaining a career in their non-traditional areas. Participants engaged with apprenticeship training programs, meet tradeswomen working in the field, and learned how high school women in trades programs can leverage the increasing building projects available and seek opportunities for high-paying careers in the construction industry.

The Non-Traditional Club at GNB Voc-Tech was formed to encourage students to consider career and technical education programs that are typically non-traditional for their gender, such as males in Early Child Care Education, or females in Welding Technology. Research shows that individuals who choose career paths based on their abilities and interests experience greater job satisfaction. It is important for men, as well as women, to choose careers that they find rewarding and interesting. Changing gender stereotypes is not easy, but GNBVT has been doing its part to provide opportunity for all students to pursue their dreams.

The GNBVT’s mission is to provide education that is rigorous, relevant, and meaningful to each student in a safe and supportive environment, resulting in academic, career and technical excellence. This experience encourages lifelong learning, fosters mutual respect, and instills social responsibility, respect for diversity, and responsible citizenship. The district has a public, four-year vocational technical high school and a public post-secondary institute offering open and selective enrollment programs. GNB Voc-Tech is one of the largest vocational-technical high schools in Massachusetts with over 2,000 students and enrolls more than 1,500 in institute programs annually.