Preparing women for careers in the trades
Turning a complex process into a clear path to career supports
Client
Nonprofit career accelerator
Team
Product owner
Project manager
Role
User research, prototyping, service design, backlog refinement
Result
Translated applicant needs into a flexible, build-ready design.
The challenge
Working in the trades can be rewarding, but these industries aren’t always welcoming or accessible for women. Our client, a nonprofit supporting women entering the trades, struggled with an overwhelming application process that caused applicants to drop off and left advisors buried in support requests instead of providing meaningful mentorship.
Our team was brought in to uncover why applicants were giving up, redesign the experience, and deliver a development-ready solution for an external vendor. Because we couldn’t recruit applicants for testing, the design needed to be practical, detailed, and realistic to implement.
Leveraging analytics and advisor insights
Without direct access to applicants, I relied on advisors’ first-hand experience, site analytics, and small workshops with frontline staff. That gave us reliable, practical input that we could turn into design decisions without waiting for ideal testing conditions.
We uncovered four friction points:
1
People often finished account setup, then didn’t know what to do next in the portal before they were ready to apply for programs
2
Ineligible applicants wasted effort creating accounts and populating information before finding out they didn't meet requirements
3
Everyone followed the same long process, whether they were prepared to apply for trades programs or needed coaching and upskilling first.
4
Most users were on mobile, and the process relied on PDFs and desktop steps that blocked them.
How we addressed the friction
Replacing ambiguity with visible next steps
After registering for the portal, applicants stalled as they weren’t given a clear next step.
In the portal, I implemented a dashboard with a clear progress tracker, included dynamic checklists, and revised the site copy to provide clear, simple instructions.
Applicants would be able to see exactly what was left to complete before program applications to reduce confusion, encourage completion, and cut down on support requests.
Removing technical barriers
A mobile-first user base struggled with interfaces designed for desktop and a PDF-based career investigation form. Technical issues meant some iPhone users couldn't submit their application at all.
For many economically disadvantaged applicants, a smartphone is all they have, so this was a major barrier.
Original mobile view of program application.
I prioritized a mobile-friendly design, and embedded the career investigation as a section in the application portal to eliminate the PDF.
Highlighting eligibility criteria up front
Applicants could progress far before learning they didn’t meet eligibility requirements for the program, causing frustration and wasted effort on both sides.
I moved eligibility checks earlier and wrote the criteria in plain language. To help alleviate client concerns about turning people away, I also included a pathway to access referrals for those who didn’t qualify.
With this intervention, people could move forward with confidence or were pointed to other supports early, saving time for everyone.
Fast-tracking proactive applicants
Channeling all applicants through the same workflow regardless of experience or preparedness slowed down proactive applicants, created bottlenecks, and split advisors’ attention.
I aligned the advisor’s workflows in their CRM with the applicant’s steps, and added a simple branching path. People who were ready could move quickly to apply to their desired program, and people who needed guidance could be routed to advisor support.
Carrying over information from the portal to the program application also meant a program application could now be reduced to just 6 screens and be completed in a matter of minutes.
Prepared applicants could progress faster, and advisors could focus on those who really needed assistance.
Outcome: A development-ready prototype advisors felt confident in
We handed over a development-ready package: high-fidelity mockups, a clickable prototype, and a prioritized backlog arranged for incremental builds.
The client praised our ability to quickly immerse ourselves in their process and deliver a design that demonstrated true empathy and understanding for their applicants. The client appreciated that the design was pragmatic and flexible and later pursued switching to our company for the implementation phase.
The compassion with which the team approached our work showed me they take their user experience work very seriously.
Client Project Sponsor
The team asked thoughtful questions to gain insight and immersed themselves in what is happening to make suggestions that are meaningful.
Client Program Advisor