Why Service Members are Primed to Solve Construction's Hiring Crisis

In this episode of Women at WIRC, Pauline Hammerbeck sits down with Torri Broderick and Jess Maldonado from the Home Builders Institute (HBI). With the U.S. construction sector needing over hundreds of thousands of new workers annually, they explore how transitioning military members are uniquely equipped to solve the residential labor shortage. From mastering power tools in a six-week "boot camp" to overcoming the transition from service to the job site, learn how HBI is empowering veterans—including women—to build new careers in construction.

Welcome back to Women at WIRC, where our editors from sister media brands, Pro Builder, Pro Remodeler, and Custom Builder sit down with standout women across home building, remodeling, and design. We'll share their stories, their business insights, and explore how women are reshaping the residential building industry.

Pauline Hammerbeck: Hey everyone. I'm Pauline Hammerbeck. Labor remains a critical challenge in residential construction. We just don't have enough boots on the ground. At the same time, thousands of service members are transitioning into civilian life each year. With the exact discipline and leadership skills that the trades are seeking.

Joining me today are two people working to bridge that gap. Torri Broderick manages military and veteran services at the Home Builders Institute, which provides tuition-free training in the building trades. Jess Maldonado is a carpentry instructor there and a longtime residential trade professional in her own right.

She trains former military members and prepares them for life on a job site. Ladies, welcome.

Torri Boderick: Good morning. 

Jess Maldonado: Thank you for having us.

PH: Torri. I'd like to start with you. When you look at residential construction, how serious is the labor shortage?

TB: I would describe the labor gap as being very serious throughout the industry. Our industry needs at least hundreds of thousands of workers each year. Industry models show the US construction sector must attract around 723,000 new workers annually. Keep in mind. with that demand, that's just before accounting for the existing shortages that we already have.

As the worker pool shrinks expanding opportunities for women's veterans, career changes and non-traditional trade entrants become essential to closing the gap.

PH: So where would you say the pressure is the most acute? Is it the entry level labor force? Is it the mid-skill trades? Is it crew leaders?

TB: I would say entry level as well as crew leaders. It's just a shortage all across. But you have to start at the entry level in order to expand to the next level. So just getting the information out there, just teaching the basics.

PH: And your focus is on the military. Tell me why are transitioning service members a good solution for what we're seeking in in residential construction?

TB: Great question. So because of their dedication to service, to our country and the commitments that they've made to us. We want to give back to those that have sacrificed for us and allow them an opportunity to have something when they exit the military.

So a lot of times service members are in jobs that may not necessarily translate into the civilian sector, or they wanna have something different as they get out.

So, them being able to learn a trade, that will take them to the next level and help them have a new journey as they exit the military. We feel that'd be very ... it would be beneficial to them as well as to our workforce.

PH: Torri, you partner with the Department of Defense in doing all this. Tell me, what does that look like? How do you identify the right candidates who will be a good fit?

TB: So we utilize our program coordinators, called RCDCs. They take the time to go out to the different military bases, attend resource fairs where they're able to meet with service members that are transitioning out, as well as veterans.

They do have a vetting system where they'll do interviews with them just to kind of ask a few questions to determine their level of understanding with trades as well as to see how hungry they are for the trades.

Once we determine that they are a fit for the program, we'll move to the next steps of getting them acclimated into the training program, or we'll provide other resources to help them make a decision that's gonna be best for their future.

PH: And Jess, you're, you're the one who's doing the actual training. Tell me, you know, what does it mean to be job ready? What does that mean in practical terms? What, what types of training are these candidates getting?

JM: We start from the basics. I teach them power tools. What are the power tools? How do you use the power tools? How do you use hand tools? What are the different names that we use out on the job site, right. The vocabulary is one of the most important things; it's understanding what they are, what they mean.

Also, I teach them [everything], from building the foundation of a home, framing walls, installing doors and windows, building a roof, the shingles of the roof. We then go back into finish work, which is going to be our drywall, tile, laminate flooring. 

PH: Walk me through what a typical week looks like in the program. What are students physically doing? If I walked into a room, what would I see?

JM: You'd walk into the room and I have lots of visuals on the walls. That way, they start to see the things that they're going to be using, some of the materials, some of the designs, some of those vocabulary words of what they're going to be using.

My first step is to have them read their books, and do their vocabulary. I want them to learn and see what those are. The next thing I'm going to do is talk with them about what they read. We're going to make sure that they have that understanding. That's about 20% of our day. 

The other 80% is going to be hands-on. Now you've read it. You've learned this way. I've talked about it and I've shown you. So now, let's go put our hands on it. Let's touch this material. Let's build these things that we just talked about. And we spend most of our day in the workshop building.

PH: I love that. And where would you say veterans tend to excel when it comes to working with the tools. What's that like for them?

JM: Actually they just shine in that aspect. They understand procedures, safety, responsibility; they're showing up prepared. And it just translates beautifully into construction.

PH: It seems like a great fit.

JM: Oh yeah.

pH: Are there other areas though, where they need a little bit more adjustment? You know, once leaving the military into this new life, do you find there are certain areas that maybe they need a little more support in?

JM: Oh, absolutely. Because they definitely do not struggle in skill, but it's that confidence. And that transition, right? They're leaving, they don't have that confidence of what they're going to do. They really don't recognize the value that their experience already has. But once that shift happens ...  their growth ... it just accelerates very quickly.

PH: And do you ever hear feedback as to their expectation before getting into the program? And then once they get in, is there a difference from what they expected?

JM: Absolutely. I don't think they ever ... the biggest thing that I've heard is them having that confidence, like, 'wow, I did not think I would have the confidence [to perform] the entire build out process, of building a home'.

They just didn't think that, in six weeks there with me, they would feel that ready to get out on the the job site. 

PH: And is all their training with you? Do you have programs where you're working with local builders? How does that work?

JM: We do try to get out. If we can work with Habitat for Humanity, we definitely will get out there, and volunteer with that. If we have any disabled veterans, or maybe a single mom that might need something, we try to get out there and do work on site. So they kind of get that experience right away. 

PH: So it sounds like you have other partners that you work with to execute everything.

JM: Yes. Yes.

PH: Tell me, in terms of graduates ... when we were preparing for our discussion here today, you had mentioned a female veteran who graduated. Tell the story of someone who graduated. What their background was before the program and what their experience was in the program.

JM: I have one lady who came in as a stay at home mom. She came to the program ... she's actually a veteran's spouse. And she wanted to learn. She wanted to get out into the trades. She was always asking me questions. We spent a lot of extra time together. You know, Ms. Jess, will you stay after class with me? I want to learn how to do this. And she was going to class, and I watched her actually design ... because I do teach blueprints ... she was able to design her own home; one they wanted to build before she got into her job of working in construction.

And so, as time went on, I've actually gone out and taken students to her home to [show how] everything that she learned in here has translated into something that's actually built. And she talks to the students about what she learned here, because she was able to go and actually have her house built from her blueprints that she was drawing in here; that has become their home, and now she's moving on into that construction field.

PH: What a great example. Right, to see it in action.

JM: Absolutely.

PH: Did she face any ...so now she's in the field, right? Did she face any friction going out to the job site as a woman? What was her experience like?

JM: She has not. Actually, luckily, we are in a time that we are starting to be valued. It's the skill that's getting valued these days. And she hasn't had any kind of issues. Not like I did back in the day.

PH: Well, tell us a little bit about that. What was your experience like?

JM: Well, I always wanted to be involved. My dad was a cabinet builder and we had a workshop in the backyard and that always interested me. I helped him remodel our home growing up as a teenager.  I wanted to build. I wanted to be in the trades. But when I got out there, I was very young and I was not accepted it. It was a very big struggle for me. Some of the guys either didn't accept me, didn't think I could do the job, and some it was ... they didn't treat me appropriately, I would say.

Luckily, as time has gone on, I was able to overcome that and I did not give up. Many times, I wanted to because of how they made me feel. I did not belong there. I did. But I kept going strong and I kept working at it.

PH: Well, I love that your students have that model right in front of them every day. So that's great to hear that things have progressed. For employers who might be listening,  what can they do to help integrate some of your students, women, men, anyone. For someone starting out in the field, what can employers do to help make that transition easier?

JM: I think becoming partners with HBI would be very helpful. We have employers who come in and they get to see, hands-on, what we're doing here. What do you have at the site? Let me see what you're teaching them. They're able to see that we're not just teaching this skill, but we're teaching them to do it correctly. We're teaching them to take pride in their work, because sometimes that's getting lost.

But if they come down to some of our sites, they see [that]. And they are able to talk with us, talk to the students. I think that's how we could get students the jobs. That's how they could help out.

PH: And Torri, what about ... you see it from a macro perspective. Are you seeing ... are we any better at recruiting women into the trades? And then, also, a follow up, are we keeping them there? Is the retention working out like we hope?

TB: I think that times have changed. As Jess mentioned, it's no longer about the gender, it's about the skill that we bring, the attention to detail working in a male-dominant field. [Speaking with] some of my colleagues, I'll ask the question: How do you feel about women in construction, women in trades, and they'll tell me, You know, I gotta admit, we're trying to rush the job. We want to get to the next one. Women are gonna sit back, they're gonna take their time, they're going to detail every little fine line to make sure it is done and it's done the right way. He said, "Women have the upper hand because we are looking at time, they're looking at quality." So they believe that women bring a lot of value, and we know that our women bring a lot of value.

With the military services side of HBI, it was important to me, being a female and being the only female in my department, to bring more awareness. You know, my first encounter was getting ready to go out to a women's build with Habitat. And so [you hear from] all these women and learn so many different stories; the bad stories that they encounter early on in their careers ...but now it's bringing more awareness. And yes, you can give them that power, that girl power. Yes you can. Yes you can.

I just spoke with one of my colleagues to find out how many women HBI has, in general. And I was just informed that they just hired a bunch of women in our Job Corps programs. And we have a lot of legacy women that are now in director positions. So yes, it's getting out there. Yes, they are staying. Now Jess left, but she stayed connected. Jess is still with us. She [now has] the opportunity to teach other HBI programs across the US, working with our Job Corps, in juvenile areas.

She's able to plant that seed early on, and tap into a young female, hoping that, one day, they'll be where she's at today, and sharing it with another female, just encouraging and empowering.

PH: Would you say that veterans are aware of the opportunities or even the demand that exists in residential construction? Or is that part of your process, educating them about that opportunity?

TB: I'll say it's equal. I would say 50/50. Some of them are already aware because a lot of them may have had the opportunity to take shop in high school. A lot of our veterans will come into our programs and say, Yeah, I did shop in high school. That was something I've always wanted to do, or my dad or my uncle had their own construction business or electrical company.

Or, I'm here to learn so that I can take over the family business. Or, now that I'm getting out of the military, I think this is going to be a good opportunity for me and my future.

PH: Has there been a change at all in recent years? I mean, there's definitely been a lot of coverage, at least in our sector, about the need for the trades. Is that getting out there? Have you seen the interest rise?

TB: It is definitely risen. Especially during COVID, you know. We were in unprecedented times, where we did not know what was going to happen. We did not know if was the world coming to an end. Or, you know, everything was Stay home, mask up.

The only thing that was mission essential was medical and law enforcement. Well, in addition to that, real estate was rising, you know. It was in high demand. Builders, they didn't have enough workers to finish jobs. The cost of lumber materials went up, skyrocketing, because people were at home, doing home renovations.

They were wanting to get more involved in learning construction, getting more involved into the trades. So I would say that COVID really impacted trades in a positive way. Now, we don't have enough workers to help with the work that's available.

PH: And I know you have some initiatives coming up in March, it being Women's History Month. You have some projects that maybe ... are you ready to talk about that today?

TB: I'd love to. Sure. So, every year, we try to get together with all 10 of our programs and military programs and bring more awareness ... to invite other women that may not know anything about HBI, or they want to get more involved because of the labor shortage.

And so they'll come to our programs, and they'll get a chance to spend a day with us. They'll start off with the carpentry instructor, do a special building project, and then they'll move over to the electrical side and work with the electrical instructor or the HVAC instructor. And they'll get a chance to see a craft from beginning to the end.

While learning that, at the same time [they're learning] the fundamentals of things that were involved in making these things happen. So they'll learn some measuring, they'll learn some STEM, they'll learn all these great things. And a lot of them will end up signing up for our program. 

This year will be our fifth anniversary doing Women in Construction, collectively. So, my goal is to bring all 10 of our programs together at one job site and do a Women's Build for a nonprofit organization or a veteran that may need some support with their housing. So we are looking for sponsors that are willing to help us. We need support with transportation and lodging to make it all possible.

So, that is our goal. We hope to complete this in March, Women's History Month. So, if anyone is out there and looking to provide any type of sponsorship, we would greatly appreciate that. To donate, you can go to our HBI website, which is www.HBI.org/military, to ask for more information.

In addition to that, I want to also recognize HBI as a whole. While military services is a piece of the pie, our foundation of what got us established is our Job Corps programs. Job Corps has been around for over 50 years, teaching young adults ages 16 to 24 in underserved areas that need support.

And so we've been teaching trades for a very, very long time. In addition to our Job Corps programs, we also have our Community Corrections program, and then we also have our Academy Programs in local areas such as Phoenix, Sacramento, Charlotte ... if I missed one, I'm sorry. I know we have one in New Orleans, but. oh, Orlando.

And these programs are all free. Everything that HBI offers is free. So if anyone is looking to get into the trades, and you're not a veteran, we do have other programs that you may qualify for if you just inquire.

And then last but not least, I also want to recognize the Home Depot Foundation. They invest it in our program, to make this possible. Our service members that come through our program, they get an opportunity to get two trades free, their PPEs free and when they graduate, they get a nice little tool bag full of tools. They also get job placement support and employability skills while they're in our training programs because we want to make sure that they are prepared to get out there and support the workforce.

PH: Well, it looks like you're hitting it from, from every angle. Give us a sense of how many people you are touching every year. How many people are going through training?

TB: So, our goal is to have 112 students per year. And, so, while we try to meet that goal, we know that sometimes life does happen. Policy changes do happen. Deployments happen with military. So, overall, because we have 10 programs, I would say we do get at least 500 in there, if not more.

PH: And if I'm a builder who says, I can't find good people ... and maybe I'll ask each of you this, but what would you challenge them on if you heard that?

TB: You haven't been to the right place. We'll say that because when you get military, you're not only just getting someone that's worn the uniform, you're getting that person that has attention to detail. You're getting that person that is gonna be on time, with being punctual. You're gonna get that person that is adament, and ready for the mission.

And so we are proud of our students. They come in and they work hard. They give it their very best. And they're also thinking about that next phase in their life because they know that, when they exit the military, life is going to happen for them all over. So they know when they're in our program, they have to give it their best in order for them to be successful as they exit out of the military.

PH: I love that. Jess, what about you? When you hear people saying, I can't find good people, what do you say to them?

JM: I definitely agree that they have not found the correct place. Especially with the veterans. They already have so much of what makes somebody successful. The traits, it's already there within them. Again, the discipline, the accountability, teamwork, ability to operate under pressure.

So I don't build those traits from scratch. I'm able to help them see how their military experience applies, and then layer the technical skills on top of that. So they definitely walk out with that confidence.

But [they have] all those skills that good workers do have. So it's the training.

PH: But do you also work, in terms of placing your graduates in programs, with employers?

TB: So, we have employers that come pretty much every cohort. Sometimes it's repeat employers, sometimes it's new employers because they know they're going to get the cream of the crop. They come in, they do spot interviews right there in the classrooms with our students. They also do Teams videos where they're able to present to all 10 sites at one time.

We also have a national placement manager. A big part of her role is to go out to different recruitment events and network and build a database full of employers. So, that way, when that time comes, we can just pull from the database and help our students get jobs.

And a lot of times our students also pay it forward. When they get a good job, they'll come back and say, Hey, Ms. Jess. I just got a job with Morton Buildings and they're hiring, or I just got a job with DPR Construction and they're hiring. Or those recruiters will call us and say, Hey, we just got some of your students, we wanna learn more about HBI. How can we get involved?

PH: I love that. And so, Jess, you're in, is it Nashville?

JM: I'm in Clarksville, Tennessee. Close to Nashville, yes.

PH: So where else is the training happening? Like if an employer wanted to come and see the students in action, what other markets are you all in?

TB: We're nationwide. But, on the military side, we are in Texas, we're in El Paso, and we're also in ... we are in Colorado. We're in San Diego, or San Marcos, California. We're in Jacksonville, Florida. We're in Hinesville, Georgia. We're in North Carolina. Fort Bragg, which is where I'm at. We're in Norfolk, Virginia. We are in Kansas, Fort Riley, Kansas. In Clarksville, Tennessee. Did I get 'em all? I think I got them. It's 10.

PH: Yeah, a pretty good spread of markets where local builders and other contractors can, if they wanted to, come see firsthand, meet students in person, find out about the program. Well, I think that's probably a great place to end.

Torri, where should people if they're interested in learning more about your programming?

TB:  HBI.org/military.

PH: Excellent. Well, thank you both for being here.

TB: Thank you for having us. I appreciate it.

JM: Thank you for having us.

PH: I'm Pauline Hammerbeck. We'll see you next time. 

Thanks for listening to Women at WIRC. This podcast is actually a spinoff of our annual Women and Residential Construction conference, which we've been hosting since 2016. You can learn more about the conference and see when we'll be in your area by visiting Women's Construction Conference Dot com. Women at WIRC is a production of Endeavor Business Media, a division of Endeavor B2B.

Until next time, keep up the good work.