HousingWire says a report by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reveals 40 percent of single-family homebuilders plan on hiring skilled workers within the next year, but 62 percent fear a shortage because so many have left the trades because of a lack of jobs. One study reports shortages of up to 20 percent in some skilled areas, and builders today are less likely to offer on-the-job training. However, Steve Martini, training director for the International Masonry Institute which trains bricklayers, says once housing picks up it will not be that difficult to locate the workers. “Our numbers of people to train are down because there just aren’t jobs for them to go to. We can gear up very rapidly to get those people trained, either starting from scratch or by upgrading skills,” he says. MHProNews.com has learned 46 percent of the builders in the Midwest and the West are poised to hire, as are 39 percent in the South and 29 percent in the Northeast.
