HBI’s Nearly 50-Year Partnership with Job Corps Highlights Program’s Importance
Home Builders Institute (HBI) has partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program for 49 years to provide individuals aged 16-24 years old with career technical education and training.
HBI’s training programs with Job Corps — which include building construction technology (BCT), electrical, HVAC, landscaping, solar and plumbing — teach technical job skills as well as employability skills — like responsibility, time management and effective communications — with basic academics. These programs provide job skills as they build character, self-esteem and the interpersonal skills students need to succeed in life.
“When I needed someone to believe in me, I found that person in HBI,” said Starr Delgado, a 2001 graduate of the HBI Job Corps plumbing program and current program instructor. “They put me on a path that changed my life.”
Through HBI’s Jobs Corps training programs, students receive a trade-specific pre-apprenticeship certificate, OSHA-10 certification, and other industry-recognized credentials upon graduation. HBI also provides program graduates with job placement and transitional support to build a successful career in construction.
The program — which includes 69 sites across 40 states — has graduated more than 121,000 students since it began in 1974. Learn more about the importance of this program and its students at hbi.org.
Latest from NAHBNow
Labor | Advocacy
Apr 24, 2026
Labor Department Proposes New Joint Employer Rule for Wage and Hour EnforcementThe Department of Labor (DOL) released the text of a proposed rule that would establish a nationwide standard for determining joint liability for under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
Advocacy
Apr 23, 2026
NAHB Applauds Lawmakers’ Push to Remove Harmful Mandate from Major Housing PackageIn a letter signed by 76 representatives, the Real Estate Caucus and the Build America Caucus called on House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to remove harmful provisions in the Senate-passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act that mandate the forced sale of single-family build-to-rent (BTR) housing.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Apr 22, 2026
State-Level Employment Situation: February 2026February’s labor market data point to a notable pullback in employment, with job losses concentrated across a majority of states and only modest gains elsewhere. While January showed solid momentum, February’s decline reflects emerging softness in hiring conditions, alongside uneven performance across the country.
Economics
Apr 21, 2026
Population Growth and Housing Supply Dynamics at the County Level in 2025U.S. population growth slowed notably in the latest Vintage 2025 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, with the nation expanding by just 0.5% in 2025, roughly half the pace of the prior year. The deceleration was primarily driven by a sharp decline in net international migration (NIM), which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million, while natural change remained relatively stable.
Economics
Apr 20, 2026
Construction Workforce Shifts: Fewer Tradesmen, More White-Collar JobsThe long-running shift in the construction labor force away from construction trades and toward management, business, and technical roles is ongoing and gaining momentum, according to NAHB’s analysis of the latest 2024 data from the American Community Survey (ACS).