Construction Career Days Captivate Students, Educate Parents
Hosting a safe and engaging workforce development event during uncertain times can be difficult but the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati overcame the odds. More than two dozen students gained first-hand exposure to the home building industry during the Careers in Construction days at the 2020 HOMEARAMA event in October hosted by the HBA.
The HBA of Greater Cincinnati was in the process of developing a robust program for students during their annual home show when their plans were upended by the pandemic, said Melanie Meyer, member relations coordinator. Challenges started stacking up. How do you invite middle and high school students when you can't go to schools to talk to them about the event? How do they attend when school buses won't shuttle them to the location? Will anyone show up?
Under the direction of Brad Olinger, HBA of Greater Cincinnati President, the HBA planning and outreach committee forged ahead, motivated by their commitment to raise awareness of careers in construction in their community. The outreach strategy shifted to heavy promotion of the event on social media and word of mouth marketing. "It was a boots on the ground effort," said Meyer, recalling that members were encouraged to tell everyone about the event, even their neighbors. Flyers promoting the career days were plastered all over the community.
The monumental outreach effort by members paid off. A group of highly motivated students and some adults attended the career days. Each attendee was given a backpack full of swag after checking in, which included business cards from members and job descriptions of positions currently open.
Attendees, masked and socially distant, walked through completed homes learning about the building process directly from builders, subs and suppliers. Other professionals in the industry, from title company representatives to designers, also addressed the participants. "We wanted to show the students there are more opportunities than hammering nails in our industry," said Meyer.
Students were not the only captive audience at the event. An HBA member who is also a financial planner spoke directly with parents about the cost of a college education compared to the cost of trade school and outlined the earning potential during and after training. Even the most skeptic parents became more open to the idea of their child entering the trades after the presentation.
While smaller in scale, overall, the careers in construction days proved to be a worthwhile event. Fueled by this momentum, the HBA is planning other outreach activities in the coming year. The HBA of Greater Cincinnati is focused on becoming the go-to resource for the home building industry for their members and community.
Latest from NAHBNow
Oct 23, 2025
IBS 2026 Exhibit Home Aims for Groundbreaking Energy-Efficiency RatingFor anyone curious about how far today’s innovative building products can take a home’s performance, The New American Home 2026 is the must-see showcase at the upcoming Builders’ Show, taking place Feb. 17–19.
Oct 22, 2025
NAHB Generates Enthusiasm for the Trades During the Big BuildNAHB recently introduced thousands of students to the skilled trades during The Big Build event at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
Latest Economic News
Oct 20, 2025
Non-Conventional Financing for New Home Sales Loses Ground in 2024Nationwide, the share of non-conventional financing for new home sales accounted for 31% of the market per NAHB analysis of the 2024 Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC) data. This is 1.7 percentage point lower than the 2023 share of 32.4%. As in previous years, conventional financing dominated the market at 69.3% of sales, higher than the 2023 share of 67.6%.
Oct 17, 2025
Better Growth, Larger Deficits: CBO Fiscal OutlookThe Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a key nonpartisan score keeper that measures the effects of policy changes by the Federal Government. With several policy changes since January of this year, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), stricter immigration, and higher tariffs, the CBO updated its economic projections through 2028.
Oct 16, 2025
Amid Market Challenges, Builder Expectations Rise in OctoberEven as builders continue to grapple with market and macroeconomic uncertainty, sentiment levels posted a solid gain in October as future sales expectations surpassed the 50-point breakeven mark for the first time since last January.