Sec. Chao Presents Grant for Program Addressing Housing Industry’s Need for Skilled Workers

The Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB, has been awarded a $4.3 million, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help address the home building industry’s need for skilled workers. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao presented the grant on Sept. 30 during NAHB’s fall board of directors meeting in Columbus, OH.

“This grant effectively takes the skilled trades to the next level by combining the interests of the industry and colleges into a structured approach to trades education and training in residential construction,” said NAHB President Bobby Rayburn, who is a member of the HBI Board of Trustees.

“This is a visionary effort,” said Rayburn. “We are proud to be part of it and look forward to this new partnership with the Department of Labor.”

Secretary Chao said that the grant “will help train workers for good paying jobs in the construction industry, which is seeing tremendous growth. Our nation is facing a shortage of skilled workers, and this grant supports the Administration’s commitment to training workers for good-paying jobs in high-growth industries.”

Citing the need for a qualified workforce, Sec. Chao said that by 2012 a million new jobs will be created in the construction industry, which is the fastest growing sector of the nation's economy. Part of the President's High Growth Job Training initiative to address skill shortages in 12 targeted industries, the HBI grant is the first awarded for this purpose to the construction sector, which is ultimately slated to receive $19.1 million.

Unlike standard residential construction training, the pilot program that is being funded by the grant will encompass a continuum of education that extends from entry-level training through apprenticeship, to an associate in applied science degree for the skilled trades.

Ten sites across the country will be established to offer training in carpentry, electrical, plumbing and heating and air conditioning crafts to 2,500 individuals. The program products and educational tools will then be disseminated to community colleges and vocational training centers for replication nationwide.

HBI is partnering in the project with the Home Builders Association of Kentucky, the Florida HBA, the HBA of South Carolina, York Technical College in South Carolina and the American Association of Community Colleges.

The home building industry’s partnership with the Department of Labor dates to 1974, when NAHB began teaching construction skills to students enrolled in Job Corps.

“Every year, HBI helps more than 2,000 Job Corps students enter careers in the building industry,” said James Sattler, chairman of the board of HBI and an Iowa builder. “This grant will also make it possible for them to take advantage of the competency-based standards, curricula and credentials that will help enhance the professionalism of the skilled trades and image of the industry on a national level.”

NAHB and HBI are principal partners in the Department of Labor’s “Skills to Build America’s Future” initiative, a national effort to promote the skilled trades among young people and workers in transition. Industry partners include the Construction Industry Round Table and the National Heavy & Highway Alliance. [ return to top ]