A pair of workforce development initiatives launched last year, one by Spokane Home Builders Association and another by the Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors of America chapter, have seen steady growth, leaders of the initiatives say.

Through the two campaigns, SHBA and Inland Northwest AGC are working together to address the skilled-labor shortage facing the construction industry.

Frame Your Future, which was launched last August by SHBA, now has about 30 companies involved with it, up from the original 12 that helped to launch the program, says Brian Burrow, director of workforce development for the initiative.

Frame Your Future works with local schools and construction companies to offer a construction-based curriculum and hands-on training for students interested in working in construction.

One Frame Your Future program is its construction camp, at which students work with experienced professionals on construction projects. Thirty-six students, up from about 20 the year prior, attended the third annual camp in May and built five garden sheds, Burrow says. The construction camp was initially part of SHBA’s other workforce development efforts before Frame Your Future was launched.

A month after Frame Your Future started, Inland Northwest AGC launched Trade Up 2 Construction. Shannen Talbot, director of marketing and communications for the chapter, says that a job board was added to the website a few months after the initiative’s launch.

Trade Up 2 Construction is a multifaceted website that offers resources for job seekers, career and training opportunities, and first-hand accounts and data for those interested in construction jobs.

Last week, the job board, which is available to all construction companies and free to use, had 85 open jobs posted to it. That number has increased steadily since that feature was added, Talbot says.

The industrywide hub, as she calls it, has resulted in at least 15 confirmed hires so far, not counting apprenticeships. Following the launch of the initiative, Inland Northwest AGC had its largest apprenticeship class ever, with 67 participants, Talbot says.

Talbot says about 20 employers currently are involved with the initiative, not including those that use hiring agencies to post open positions. So far, employers have received about 130 applications through Trade Up 2 Construction’s job board, she says.

Talbot says Frame Your Future helps prepare future construction workers so they are ready to get into the jobs that are available through the Trade Up 2 Construction campaign.

Burrow says Frame Your Future will continue to build upon its workforce development efforts by expanding its team and broadening the services it offers.

Frame Your Future is holding its first summer construction camp this year, where students will build a tiny home on wheels. The camp will be held in collaboration with the Spokane Tribe, and will include about 10 students, Burrow says.

Frame Your Future focuses more on residential construction training, says Burrow. He says carpentry, framing, electrical, and plumbing are some of the focus areas for residential construction, but there is crossover with commercial construction.

“Both SHBA and AGC recognize the common need for training more construction workers,” says Burrow. “Whether they are interested in commercial construction or residential construction doesn’t matter, so long as we collaborate to give them quality career guidance, learning opportunities, and exposure to the trades.”

Some students have been recruited and offered jobs following Frame Your Future’s last construction camp, which Burrow says is almost like an unofficial interview or hiring event, as students get to work alongside employers that volunteer their time.

“There were students who stood out that were sought after by the employers from this last construction camp,” says Burrow.

Frame Your Future helps to support shop and trades-related programs at area schools, including Central Valley High School, Rogers High School, and NEWTech Skill Center, a technical school in northeast Spokane, Burrow says. The initiative is one step in addressing what he refers to as “a huge skilled-labor shortage” in the construction industry.

“Over the next 10 years, we’ll see 25% of our workforce reach retirement age. So, the work we do today is setting ourselves up for success tomorrow,” Burrow says.

In May, Frame Your Future introduced its Skills That Build Trailer, which will travel to local schools and supply crews of students with materials and tools to get hands-on training as they work on various projects. It recently delivered materials to Central Valley High School for students in the summer school program to build a garden shed, Burrow says.

Much of the initiative’s programs are supported by volunteers from Spokane-area construction companies, he says.

Frame Your Future was launched after SHBA members donated $200,000 to start the initiative. In November, Spokane County commissioners awarded the workforce development initiative $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to enhance its job-training programs.

Burrow says last year was all about building a foundation, and this year is about bridging the gap between the classroom and the workplace, making sure that the initiative’s participants are landing jobs.

“It has definitely helped fortify the pipeline, and now it’s time to see the fruits of our labor,” he says.

To help the Frame Your Future participants, as well as anyone interested in a career in construction, Trade Up 2 Construction is making the employment process easier for job seekers and employers, says Talbot.

“It’s like the one-stop shop for construction careers in the Inland Northwest,” she says.

Trade Up 2 Construction is primarily run by just a few people, including Talbot. The initiative is funded mostly through AGC’s workforce development fund, she says. Some construction companies have also sponsored the initiative.

“The hope is that we can help people who are interested get into positions and that we can help construction employers find people who can do the jobs that we need them to do,” she says.

Burrow says that he hopes efforts like these can help change how people view working in the construction industry.

“I grew up in an era where a career in the trades was spoken about as if it was your Plan B,” Burrow says. “We’re here to say that a career in the trades provides tremendous opportunity with huge potential for income growth and a career or lifestyle of your design.”