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High School Students Learning More About Building Careers
The Home Builders Institute (HBI) and Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide™ are halfway through a two-year program to spread the word among the nation’s high school students about the wide range of home building careers open to them in the residential construction industry.
The program was funded through a $50,000 grant from the National Housing Endowment.
The program merges the HBI-developed industry-specific career awareness supplement, “Business Ventures in the Residential Construction Industry,” with JA’s “Success Skills” work readiness program.
 The HBI materials — a series of fact sheets and activity sheets — provide students with knowledge about the broad range of residential construction career options, education and training requirements and entrepreneurial opportunities.
The material covers the more familiar industry fields such as carpentry, plumbing and site supervision as well as lesser known aspects of the industry including home integration technology, land acquisition, woofing inspection, warranty coordination and model home and interior design.
Twenty-five awareness programs were completed in school systems throughout the country during the 2007-2008 school year. An additional 25 programs are underway.
“The $50,000 grant from the National Housing Endowment to support a partnership between Junior Achievement and local home builders associations helps our industry professionals get into the classroom and give students firsthand knowledge about residential construction,” said Fred Humphreys, HBI president and CEO. “High school students, whether seeking employment or post-secondary education following graduation, are not always aware of the numerous career opportunities in our industry. The partnership with Junior Achievement is expanding our outreach by connecting industry professionals with students in a classroom setting.”
 “On behalf of Junior Achievement of Greater Hampton Roads’ Board of Directors, its volunteers, staff and most importantly, the 15,235 Junior Achievement students, I want to express my sincere appreciation to the National Housing Endowment and the Home Builders Institute for their investment in the future of our children,” said Shannon Kane, Junior Achievement president in Norfolk, Va.
For more information about the National Housing Endowment, including its funding guidelines, visit www.nationalhousingendowment.org.
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