Home Builders Institute (HBI) was established in 1983 as the workforce development arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The creation of this non-profit corporation was a result of the merger of NAHB’s Manpower Development and Training Division, Education Department and the Education Foundation.

In 1947, NAHB began its educational programming by holding seminars for its members. NAHB expanded its services to include residential construction training in 1967 when it was awarded its first contracts from the U.S. Departments of Labor and of Health, Education and Welfare. These early private/public industry partnerships allowed for the inauguration of NAHB’s new Manpower Development and Training Division, HBI’s precursor.

The years between 1970 and 1974 proved very fruitful to what would later be the foundation of HBI. In 1970 NAHB began Operation Transition, a training program for Vietnam veterans interested in pursuing careers in brick masonry. Four years later, HBI’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor and its Job Corps program began, training young people in the trades at the Woodstock Job Corps Center in Maryland. 

Between 1979 and 1981 NAHB’s Manpower Division started the Native American Apprenticeship Program, a pilot program training Native Americans for employment in the building industry.

In 1994, HBI unveiled another trades training program through its Craft Skills department, now Workforce Training and Employment. Project CRAFT (Community Restitution Apprenticeship Focused Training) is a program targeted adjudicated youth uses a comprehensive education approach to assist troubled young people turn their lives around and gain sustainable employment in the building industry. 

The United States Congress recognized Project CRAFT’s efforts “as a model among youth intervention programs…and strongly advocates the continued replication of the program.”  (S.Rept.109-103) in July 2005.

For more than 40 years, HBI and its forerunner, the Manpower Development and Training Division of NAHB, trained skilled workers in residential construction, promoted the industry as a career and helped the membership address its need for qualified employees.

Today, HBI continues its dedication to the advancement and enrichment of craft education and training programs serving the needs of the residential construction industry.

Estimates from the Department of Labor (DOL) suggest that by 2010 over one million new jobs will be created to meet America’s construction demands. In response, DOL gave HBI a grant through the “President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative” to increase participation in trades training. 

The grant aims to recruit 2,500 people into the residential construction industry by providing quality trades training and an Associate’s Degree or equivalent in the Applied Sciences. Home builders associations in ten different states are spearheading the program in partnership with local school boards, community colleges and workforce development boards. 

While the total number of jobs in residential construction continues to grow, so too do the variety of jobs in the industry. In January 2006, HBI launched a career recruitment and awareness campaign for the 21st Century. Make it Happen uses posters, brochures and multimedia to inform students, parents and educators on the many careers in home building.