HBA Investments in Career and Technical Education Grow Florida Workforce
Students from the BIABB have competed in Student Competitions at IBS since 2020.
Every February, the home building industry celebrates Career and Technical Education Month, a time to spotlight the training and educational opportunities that prepare students for careers in the trades. This is the first story in a weekly series highlighting the month.
High school and college students across the Florida Panhandle are building tiny homes, learning jobsite safety and gaining pathways into residential construction with the help of the Building Industry Association of the Big Bend (BIABB). Through hands-on projects, workshops and mentorship opportunities, students prepare for successful careers in the skilled trades – and competition at the annual International Builders’ Show (IBS).
“It’s important to us because we need builders in our area,” said Kerwyn Jones-Wilson, the BIABB 2025 president. “We don’t need them to go to school, get licensed and move elsewhere. We need residential builders, and we need them in Tallahassee.”
A key supporter of local Career and Technical Education opportunities (CTE), the BIABB founded the first Future Builders of America (FBA) chapter in its area – an NAHB Student Chapter membership – with one school about eight years ago. They’ve since expanded their programming to include multiple high schools, technical colleges and Florida A&M University (FAMU).
Through the Builders Care Program, BIABB’s workforce development committee, the organization hosts networking events, skill development workshops, jobsite visits and hands-on projects where students learn to use tools and follow jobsite safety standards. One FBA group, Gadsen Technical College, is currently building a tiny home that will be displayed at BIABB’s May parade of homes, and others have built everything from picnic tables and dog houses to ramps for elderly local citizens.
The committee’s skills development workshops, including resume review sessions, interview prep and lessons on how to dress for success, lead up to IBS each year. Jones-Wilson said BIABB has taken students to IBS since 2020, where the groups compete in Student Competitions in construction management, custom design and more.
“They don't learn this in schools. Everything you see them do at IBS is directly from BIABB,” Jones-Wilson said. “I tell them that when going to IBS, I want them to win but I don’t pressure them to win. It’s about the experience.”
In 2025, four teams from BIABB’s FBA chapters competed at IBS. One was awarded second place in the Construction Management category, one was awarded third place for the Outstanding Student Chapter Award and two students were named Outstanding Students of the Year.
Multiple FAMU students have received internship offers directly from their FBA and IBS experiences, and Jones-Wilson said other students seeing their peers receive offers has made the FBA chapter grow. Four students from FAMU’s FBA chapter graduated in spring 2025, and one is now a registered contractor in the area.
BIABB’s involvement doesn’t end there. Jones-Wilson said they recently learned that FAMU doesn’t teach residential construction, only commercial. After BIABB successfully advocated for it, FAMU is creating an official residential construction course in 2026 and BIABB is helping to develop the curriculum.
But right now, Jones-Wilson is focused on IBS 2026 and expects to have four teams compete. She said the community is rallying around its students too, especially as FAMU has pledged to donate a charter bus to help ease travel costs.
“We're going to fill that bus up with students to take to Orlando,” she said. “When you come to IBS this year, hopefully that hall is filled with Florida students.”