Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW)’S Formal Transition to Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3)
Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) is pleased to announce its pre-apprenticeship training program’s transition to the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3). NEW’s first training cohort incorporating the MC3 curriculum starts in November 2026.
Developed by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Standing Committee on Apprenticeship and Training, MC3 is a standardized and comprehensive curriculum that helps participants prepare, select, and succeed in a registered apprenticeship program. It is administered by TradesFutures, a nonprofit established by NABTU and other stakeholders. The ten units in MC3* are:
Construction Industry and Trades Orientation
Tools and Materials
Construction Health and Safety
Blueprint Reading
Construction Math
Heritage of the American Worker
Maintaining a Respectful Workplace
Green Construction
Financial Literacy
Where AI Meets Construction
The transition to MC3 enhances NEW’s past curriculum, which was developed in consultation with local unions and employer partners, and provides a green construction module to all participants enrolled in NEW’s pre-apprenticeship training.
When participants complete the program, they will have OSHA-30 and Site Safety Training (SST) credentials and access to local union apprenticeship programs. NEW also continues to help participants with job placements and provide advanced training, work-readiness workshops, and additional support to grow and thrive in their careers. Throughout their journeys, NEW offers participants supportive services to help address barriers to entry and retention in the trades. These services include OMNY cards to travel on public transit, food pantry access, and referrals to childcare, healthcare, housing, and public assistance, as well as access to tools and equipment and professional development opportunities.
NEW thanks the New York Power Authority (NYPA) for supporting its transition to MC3 and enhancing its program capacity.
The transition to MC3 also marks the conclusion of NEW’s Green Collar Prep (GCP) program, which had been a separate training track since 2021. The success of GCP and its high level of interest guided NEW’s decision to provide all participants with a foundation in green construction training. NEW thanks New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) Green Economy Fund for providing major support to the GCP program.
About TradesFutures
TradesFutures is a national non-profit organization dedicated to expanding pathways into union Registered Apprenticeship and family-sustaining construction careers. Through a network of more than 200 Apprenticeship Readiness Programs across 34 states and our award-winning Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3), TradesFutures works to remove barriers to opportunity and build a skilled and well-represented construction workforce. Through proven strategies, programs, partnerships, and initiatives, TradesFutures connects workers to quality careers while helping meet the evolving workforce needs of the union construction industry.
As part of the TradesFutures network, NEW joins the nation’s largest pre-apprenticeship network. TradesFutures provides technical assistance, specialized research, and peer networking opportunities for apprenticeship readiness programs in the network to ensure high-quality programming and strong outcomes for program participants.
*Some units are optional.
Image by Greg Morris
