By Meghan Corbett

The Home Builders Association of Winston-Salem (HBAWS) is a very reputable organization and has been in existence for more than 50 years. It is a non-profit membership trade association that does everything in its power to support and promote the home building and remodeling industry. That in itself is quite a large workload, but the HBAWS also does its part within the community to educate those interested in this field of work.

For 18 years, the HBAWS has been deeply involved in two education programs that work to build homes in Forsyth County with Habitat for Humanity. These programs take place at the WS/FCS Career Center and Forsyth Technical Community College. This is done through the Vocational Education Fund, a monetary support program that was started to support secondary and post-secondary training in the home-building industry. “Both the Career Center and Forsyth Tech provide valuable instruction to support the home-building industry,” said Sylvia Oberle, executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Forsyth County. “It also gives students the opportunity for hands-on experience while also supporting families in the community. The program is funded by contributions from HBA, from Habitat for Humanity and from instructional dollars from WS/FC Schools.”

Every year, the top students in these two programs receive scholarships from the HBAWS to gain additional training in their selected field. This encourages students to continue learning and polishing their skills to be successful in a career in housing development. As the first business partner of a North Carolina secondary education program, the HBAWS is truly dedicated to its efforts as it has been for nearly two decades. “This is the only program of its kind in the state,” said Oberle. “It has generated more than $1.5 million in new property tax revenues for the city and county, based on the tax values of the finished homes. In addition, students participating in the Career Center program have achieved a graduation rate of close to 100 percent, much higher than average. A number of students have gone on to the Forsyth Tech program, to construction management programs in 4-year institutions or been employed by local homebuilders.”

This type of partnership was a natural for the HBAWS to develop because it supports the homebuilding industry while bettering the local community through education. “The Construction Technology class at the Career Center is one of the best kept secrets in town,” said Barry Stewart, carpentry instructor at the Career Center. “The amount of hands-on education that students get is second to none.”

The experiences and knowledge they receive is priceless. “This year’s house is the 10th that has been built at the Career Center,” said Stewart. “It will be transported to a permanent site when it is finished. Before we started building complete houses, we did wall builds for Habitat. The exterior and interior walls were framed here and then transported to the construction site for assembly.” The program has helped with dropout prevention as well as introducing students to a world of community service and the emotional rewards it can deliver. It gives students opportunities for the future no matter where they are coming from. “Students can continue their education or go into the workforce with a set of skills that will get them started at above most entry level grades,” said Stewart. It is this “learn by doing” mentality that has given students an edge on the competition for a growing industry, and through financial contributions from the HBAWS, Habitat for Humanity, instructional dollars from WS/FC Schools and donations from private donors, it is one that will hopefully succeed for many years to come.

For more information about the Vocational Education fund, visit the website at www.hbaws.net/vocationaled.html