Colorado Association of Home Builders

Leighty tells us that there are a ton of smaller networking and educational events that happen throughout the year through local councils and committees. From professional happy hours to builder round tables to lunch and learns, members have access to a lot of opportunities for professional development. “Our councils and committees are really where we drive a lot of our value for folks to engage with other members and for them to learn from each other or learn together,” says Leighty. A NEW GENERATION OF HOME BUILDERS Aside from networking, CAHB also provides a great amount of educational material to its members. They operate the Home Builders Association University, which offers different types of classes and certifications. Leighty also draws attention to the Home Builders Stormwater Excellence Program. CAHB partners with the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment to certify members on stormwater management. “This is to ensure that we have clean waterways and to abide by federal and state stormwater guidelines,” Leighty explains. Leighty points to another large program is the Master Builder Program, which involves a partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to create master builders. This is an effort by CAHB’s job site safety committee. “We are a master builder in safety if you will,” Leighty proudly exclaims. The Master Builder Program creates better, safer builders for the industry, which also provides a better relationship between the builders and OSHA. In addition to all of these efforts, CAHB has also created Careers in Construction Colorado, which is aimed at attracting more young people to join the trades workforce. Currently, the program is in over 60 high schools across the state. They encourage their students to join SkillsUSA Competitions, where they can practice and show off the talents that they’ve learned throughout the semester. 7 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 04 COLORADO ASSOCIAT ION OF HOME BUI LDERS