Promoting Sustainable Careers: Connecting Trainees to Construction Opportunities
HBA: Home Building Association of Greater Portland
Category: Education
Location: Lake Oswego, Ore.
Size: 601+ members
Year: 2024
The Home Building Association of Greater Portland and its nonprofit foundation partnered with other nonprofits and pre-apprenticeship programs for a three-year commitment in creating successful training and job opportunity awareness in “green” residential construction. This initiative focused on connecting underrepresented groups, including minorities, low-income individuals and formerly incarcerated people, with training and career opportunities in the sustainable building sector. As part of this initiative, they worked with four local programs: Constructing Hope, which supports individuals leaving incarceration; Oregon Tradeswomen, a free program dedicated to empowering women in construction; Portland Youth Builders, which focuses on training low-income high school graduates; and POIC, serving young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The program included a variety of initiatives to support more than 400 students annually, including scholarships, job placements and exposure to industry experts at events like the annual educational BuildRight Conference. Additionally, the trainees participated in career exploration events and sustainable building tours, which showcased energy-efficient homes and provided job interview opportunities with HBA member companies. These efforts created pathways for trainees to secure long-term, sustainable careers in the residential construction industry and helped hundreds of students move closer to their career goals.