One Home Builder's Answer to the Industry's Labor Shortage

Oakwood Homes created a free school, the Colorado Home Building Academy, in response to the construction industry's persisting labor shortage.

In an effort to target those who may not have considered construction labor as a primary career path, the Academy is reaching out to millennials, and specifically marketing toward millennial women. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women make up only 12 percent of the construction workforce. However, CNBC reports women make up roughly 20 percent of the Academy's student population.

"Every single year the labor situation has basically gotten worse," said Patrick Hamill, CEO of Oakwood. "People retire, and there's nobody to replace them, and as an industry, ultimately we've just done a lousy job marketing our opportunities to young people."

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