Spokane Home Builders Assocation hosts 2022 workforce development camp
High School Students Gain Hands-on Training in Construction During Two-Day Camp
The Spokane Home Builders Association hosted its second annual Frame Your Future Workforce Development Camp for high school students last weekend. This year they were excited to have Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward opening the weekend and KXLY’s Mark Peterson as MC at Mead High School.
During the camp, more than 20 students from Mead School District teamed up with leaders from residential construction companies to receive hands-on training while building garden sheds. The camp is one of three parts of SHBA’s Frame Your Future initiative, a collaborative effort between construction industry leaders and local schools to tackle the housing crisis in Spokane.
The Workforce Development Camp was developed last year in 2021 in response to a widespread shortage of skilled workers in the home building industry. “The quantity and quality of homes that builders produce are impacted by the quantity and quality of local workers,” says Brian Burrow, CEO of Really Clean Energy, who’s partnering with SHBA to launch Frame Your Future at a local high school. “There aren’t enough houses within the city to meet the market demand, so prices are skyrocketing.”
Because the home building industry hasn’t been able to keep pace with population growth and housing demand, in part due to the labor shortage, the Spokane region is now facing a housing affordability crisis.
• The median price of a home in Spokane County is now $436,500
• The median household income is $60,101
• 84% of households in Spokane County cannot afford to buy a median-priced home in this mar- ket Building Industry Association of Washington, Washington’s Housing Attainability Crisis Part 2)
Through programs like the Workforce Development Camp, the Frame Your Future initiative aims to build a pipeline of skilled construction workers that can help close the housing gap.
“There is so much value in exposing students and their families to the construction industry and the pathways it creates leading into a rewarding career,” says Deacon Band, owner of Band Construction and Chair of the SHBA Workforce Development Committee. “The camp provides basic construction training that builds a foundation for lifelong skills.”
Students gain hands-on experience in the following areas:
• Blueprint reading
• Finish carpentry
• Framing
• Power tools
• Roofing
• Safety
• Sheet metal work
• Siding
The Spokane Home Builders Association has been committed to protecting and promoting the housing industry since 1947. Serving 7 Eastern Washington counties, SHBA is over 750 members strong.
SHBA members are professional home builders, architects, remodelers, suppliers, manufacturers, and sales and marketing professionals who believe every American deserves the opportunity of homeownership.
