October is Careers in Construction Month, an opportunity for home builders, material suppliers, and others to increase public awareness of the outstanding opportunities available in construction trade professions.

Here are the top 5 reasons to consider a rewarding career in residential construction:

Builders Across the Country Are Hiring
Home builders across the country and here in Central WA are seeking skilled workers — such as carpenters, framers and roofers — to help them build the American Dream. This means there is ample opportunity for motivated students seeking a rewarding career path.

In fact, the residential construction industry is one of the few sectors where demand for new workers is rising and there is a notable shortage of professionals. The number of open construction sector jobs recently increased to 273,000, according to analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Job Satisfaction and Competitive Salaries
Residential construction workers consistently express high job satisfaction. Average salaries in our region remain competitive with other industries in our area.  And projections from all sources predict that construction jobs will see steady wage growth for at least the next 5 years.

A Career Ladder with No Limit
When people think of professions with great opportunities for advancement, construction might not immediately come to mind. But you should take another look at what a career in construction can, and often does, look like.

From an entry-level labor position, a home building worker has the opportunity to learn more highly-skilled trades, serve as frontline management, grow into a company management role, and eventually, for those with an entrepreneurial spirit, even own their own home building firm. And this is just within one type of company; there is always the opportunity to take a job with a supplier, a specialty contractor, or any other of the dozens of supporting companies essential to the residential construction industry.

Diversity of Skilled Trades
A home builder relies on a number of highly trained workers to get the job done right. This includes dozens of skilled artisans and professionals, including carpenters, architects, engineers, plumbers, electricians, painters and landscapers. Analysis from NAHB shows that 70% of builders typically use between 11 and 30 subcontractors to build a single-family home. Indeed, there are many different trades you can pursue depending on your personal interests.  

Rewarding Career without College Debt
At a time when countless college graduates are finding themselves underemployed and saddled with crushing student debt, it’s important to know that earning a college degree is not the only road to success. A vocational education is equally rewarding and can be obtained at a fraction of the cost.
HBI, a national leader in career training and NAHB’s workforce development arm, offers educational programs in 44 states and the District of Columbia, reaching more than 13,000 students each year. These include more than 10,000 students in HBI’s pre-apprenticeship programs and 3,500 students in 130 NAHB Student Chapters.

HBI Job Corps programs are located in 74 centers across the nation and offer pre-apprenticeship training in 10 residential construction trades. The training programs are national in scope, but implemented locally using proven models that can be customized to meet the workforce needs of communities across the nation. Those who graduate from the program enjoy an 80% job placement rate.

To learn more about job opportunities in Central Washington, contact the Central Washington Home Builders Association, or visit www.CWHBA.org.