In a move strongly opposed by NAHB, House Republican appropriators are proposing to eliminate the Department of Labor’s Job Corps program as part of a 30% reduction to the agency’s fiscal year 2024 budget.

In a letter to House Republican and Democratic appropriations leaders, NAHB stressed that “for nearly 50 years, Job Corps has been the nation’s most successful career preparation program for our most disadvantaged youth. Job Corps offers real-life, hands-on training to help young people acquire three vital pieces of the employment puzzle: trades training, basic academics and employability skills.”

In partnership with NAHB, the Home Building Institute (HBI) is a national leader for career training and job placement in the building industry. For more than 45 years, HBI has been a trusted and valued national training program contracted by the Department of Labor when outsourcing their Job Corps construction training contracts.

Given the severe labor shortage in the residential construction industry and housing’s importance to the economy, NAHB is calling on House Republican appropriators to restore the Job Corps program in the fiscal 2024 labor appropriations bill and provide full funding for this vital program.