For immediate release:

HBA and CCI Partner for Construction Apprentice Program 

February 6, 2015 -- The Home Builders Association of Metro Denver (HBA) and Colorado Construction Institute (CCI) announced today a partnership to create an HBA Construction Apprentice Program to train the next generation of Colorado’s residential construction trades workers. The HBA Construction Apprentice Program will focus on training unemployed and underemployed people from the Metro Denver area in certified residential carpentry techniques, and connect qualified Apprentices to job opportunities with over 500 HBA Members seeking middle-skilled workers. HBA has committed grant monies to CCI to develop the program, which will become a one-of-a-kind Residential Construction-specific Apprentice program in Colorado.

“An apprentice program specifically for HBA members will provide our industry with an immediate labor pool while also building a workforce for the future,” said Craig Campbell, HBA Board Vice President and Chair of the Labor Shortage Task Force subcommittee. “I’m excited to work closely with CCI to develop a skills training curriculum that can meet the exact labor needs of our members. With the right training solutions, we can start fixing our labor shortage.”

Although Colorado is in the midst of a construction boom, building projects across the state are being stalled due to a substantial labor shortage.  Many of those interested in the construction field are untrained for the hundreds of open positions available today; this is traditionally referred to as the “middle-skills gap.”  The HBA Construction Apprentice Program will specifically target underemployed persons needing skills training, as well as out-of-work persons who face socio-economic barriers to employment. These individuals have the potential to be a major source of new labor for the residential construction industry. CCI partners with other Community-Based Organizations to ensure potential apprentices are ready to receive skills training, and then CCI provides the certified residential construction skills training to prepare each trainee for successful employment. 

Since 2011, CCI has been a frontrunner in providing both vocational skills training and employability training to this demographic of disadvantaged people, preparing them to earn good-paying jobs in residential construction that they previously would not have been qualified for.  “We are thrilled to form a partnership with the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver at this critical moment for Colorado’s construction industry,” said Michael Smith, Executive Director of CCI. “This Apprentice program will create scores of new middle-skilled workers who can fill the gaps in the current labor shortage. I applaud HBA’s forward-thinking on this issue and look forward to a great partnership between our organizations.”

To learn more about the HBA Construction Apprentice Program, including information about eligibility and enrollment, please visit www.ccidenver.org or call 303-997-0453. For more information about the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver please visit their website, www.hbadenver.com. 

About the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver (HBA)

The HBA is a trade association representing businesses involved in the residential development, construction and remodeling industry in the eight-county Denver metro region. Members include home builders, land developers, remodelers, architects, mortgage lenders, building material suppliers and subcontractors.

Founded in 1942, the HBA is one of 700 local home builder associations in the United States. The HBA is also affiliated with the Colorado Association of Home Builders (CAHB) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which represents more than 150,000 member firms in the United States.

For more information, call 303-778-1400 or visit www.hbadenver.com. 

CONTACT
Connie Dahl, Director of Marketing & Communications
Home Builders Association of Metro Denver
303-551-6720 
cdahl@hbadenver.com
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