How to Start Planning for a Summer Intern
Schools will be out for the summer soon, which means now is the perfect time to start laying the groundwork for an internship program. Working with interns helps companies meet their own workforce needs and helps the industry build the pipeline of new workers needed to meet the demand for new housing.
There are many considerations when planning for a trainee on your jobsite. To help you establish a program, NAHB has a step-by-step guide to setting up an internship program.
The Student Internship Resources for NAHB Members guide focuses on how builders can engage with three different talent resources: secondary (high school) students in career and technical (CTE) education programs, community college students, and university students.
The comprehensive guide covers topics such as:
- How to evaluate your workplace needs
- How to research the legalities
- Tips for developing a training plan
- How to find, hire and manage interns
- How to retain good prospects as employees
In addition, to help students and young professionals develop their careers in the trades, NAHB has a robust collection of one page “how-to” guides, such as interviewing and building a network available for download and print.
NAHB invites all members to share their workforce development opportunities and challenges during the next in-person Workforce Development Champions Forum on Friday, June 9, at 10:30 a.m. ET, during the Spring Leadership Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Latest from NAHBNow
Economics
Aug 25, 2026
Economic Uncertainty, Affordability Challenges Weigh on New Home Sales
Sales of newly built single-family homes declined 10.5% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 607,000, following a sharply upwardly revised June estimate, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales was 6.3% lower than a year earlier.
Material Costs
Aug 24, 2026
U.S.-Canada Trade Tensions Add to Market Uncertainty
The escalating U.S.-Canada trade dispute is a setback for residential construction. Talks between the two countries collapsed last Friday, and President Trump proceeded with his threat to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion in Canadian goods.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Aug 25, 2026
Economic Uncertainty, Affordability Challenges Weigh on New Home Sales
Elevated borrowing costs, rising inflation and broad economic uncertainty continue to curb buyer demand and hold back new home sales.
Economics
Aug 24, 2026
Second Quarter 2026 Multifamily Construction Data
According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts increased year-over-year during the second quarter of 2026.
Economics
Aug 24, 2026
Cost of Materials Rises, Especially for Smaller Builders
Material costs increased by 6.7% over the previous year, according to results from the survey for the July 2026 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).