HBI's Schools to Skills Grant Application Now Open
Attracting new talent to the trades continues to challenge the residential construction industry. To help boost the amount of U.S. secondary schools with a skilled trades curriculum, HBI is once again offering its Schools to Skills Grant. The grant provides schools with the resources to implement HBI’s Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training (PACT) curriculum — which removes financial barriers to making high-quality trades education accessible to more students across the country — at no cost for two years.
HBI’s PACT curriculum is a pre-apprenticeship program that equips students with the skills they need for careers in construction trades. The grant covers:
- Curriculum materials
- Educator training
- Student assessments
- Ongoing support for successful implementation
HBI’s PACT curriculum is one of only three national programs recognized and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor and many state education departments. In addition, PACT helps students gain valuable skills and connections to the local building industry, with support from NAHB and its local and state associations.
All HBAs and members who work with schools should encourage administrators to apply for the Schools to Skills Grant. The grant is open exclusively to secondary schools and districts looking to enhance their construction trades programs with HBI’s PACT curriculum.
Applications are open. The deadline to apply is Dec. 20, 2024, at 11:59 p m ET. Please contact HBI at [email protected] for more information about the grant.
Latest from NAHBNow
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.
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
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.
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.
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).