Report: Parental Support for Skill Trades Career Paths Grows

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A report released today by the Home Builders Association of Michigan (HBA Michigan) showed nearly 70 percent of Michigan parents would support the idea of their child pursuing a career in construction or other related skilled trades. The poll, consisting of 600 active voters, was conducted by Marketing Resource Group and demonstrated that 82.4 percent of voters would support a millage or other public funding to create and maintain vocation programs that attract and retain more students in skilled trades.

“The MRG survey is very encouraging from the standpoint that we can see that Michigan voters are really starting to understand the importance of opening up the pipeline of skilled trades workers in this state,” says Robert Filka, CEO of HBA Michigan. “We lost an entire generation during the housing recession. The tide is starting to turn and we need to keep spreading the word that there are good, high-paying jobs waiting to be filled throughout the state in construction.”

Filka adds that Michigan’s construction industry has been hindered by a shortage of skilled labor over the past decade, which he attributes to both the recession and cutbacks in career technology programs in local schools.

HBA Michigan also recently conducted a series of regional summits throughout the state, where home builders, state and local officials, and the general public testified to the reasons behind the slow growth rate in the homebuilding industry. The results of the meetings will be released during the week of June 5 as part of a comprehensive report on the housing industry and Michigan’s economic growth.