This month, thousands of tradeswomen from across North America converged on Houston, Texas, for the annual Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference (TWBN), the largest annual gathering of tradeswomen in the world. Taking place October 9–11, TWBN has grown from a regional gathering into a powerful, three-day celebration of sisterhood, solidarity, and opportunity across the building trades.

As always, NEIEP was present at the conference, supporting the sisters. As the organization responsible for educating the Elevator Constructors of the IUEC, our job is to make sure the doors into this trade are open to everyone capable of doing the work.

Why This Conference Matters to Our Industry

The elevator trade has, historically, been a male-dominated field, but that’s changing. Events like TWBN are a major reason why.

TWBN brings together rank-and-file tradeswomen, apprentices, national labor leaders, government officials, and industry executives for plenary sessions, hands-on workshops, panel discussions, and the conference’s signature banner parade. This impressive parade shows us just how many women are already building, wiring, installing, and maintaining the infrastructure this country relies on every day.

For any aspiring tradesperson, the conference offers proof that the trades are not a solo path, that mentorship exists, and that the network of women already doing this work is bigger and stronger than it might look from the outside on any single jobsite.

A Standard Built on Access, Not Exclusion

NEIEP’s 8,000-hour training program was built to produce the most technically rigorous and safety trained Elevator Constructors in the world. Nothing about that standard is, or should be, tied to who’s capable of meeting it. A nationally standardized curriculum and a validated Mechanic’s Exam exist precisely so that skill – not circumstance – determines who succeeds in this trade.

Every Elevator Apprentice who walks into a NEIEP classroom brings something different to the table. Our job is to train them to the same uncompromising standard, regardless of where they started.

Looking Ahead to Houston

We’re proud to see the continued growth of the TWBN conference that, in under two decades, has gone from a few hundred participants to nearly 6,000 attendees at last year’s gathering in Chicago. Such success and growth is a reminder that the future of the skilled trades is being actively built by the women showing up to jobsites across the country right now.