A Growing Number of High Schools Introduce Trade Skills Curriculum

For decades, the majority of high school students have followed a college-bound pathway post-graduation while technical education took the backseat, but that may be changing, according to NAHB. The Home Builders Institute recently recorded a 300% increase in the number of high schools licensing its trade skills curriculum since the start of the pandemic, and in the same time frame, HBI’s Schools-to-Skills grant initiative allocated $1.7 million in funding for trade programs in 159 schools across 33 states.

The Home Builders Institute hopes that its resources will chip away at a skilled labor shortage by providing high school students with the opportunity to secure high-paying jobs immediately after graduating.

Since launching in the fall 2019, Schools-to-Skills grants have funded more than $1.7 million in trade programs across 33 states in 159 schools, including 40 schools new to the program for 2022. In addition, HBI's curriculum is one of only three national curricula recognized and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor and several state departments of education. It provides free, hands-on construction trades training and certification to middle and high school students, setting them up for a high-paying job and a successful career path in the building industry.

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