Southern Nevada Homebuilders Association

6 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7 To address this skilled worker shortage, the SNHBA has tried several different avenues to draw people to learn the trades. Although an online learning system did not bring the anticipated results, the association is working on other training options. One possibility is a trade high school, which Hodgson says is a big step, but one with great potential. He shares, “We need to have a path to get a workforce for the future. We want it to be a five-star academic high school, where they would actually learn construction skills while they go to school.” Following the model of a successful school in Reno, which has been operating for more than a decade, Hodgson notes, “We are not reinventing the wheel, we’re taking a successful model. Over a two-year period, the class builds a house on property they own, which they sell and then use the revenue for the school.” Although still in the planning stages, enough money has been raised to hire a principal, who is at the Reno school for a year to gain an understanding of how it operates. “So, we just shifted gears. We haven’t abandoned getting our workforce. We’re just trying a different avenue,” Hodgson asserts. Keeping busy with ongoing national and state initiatives, including energy efficiency, building density, and affordable housing, Hodgson claims that the current supply chain issue has been one of his biggest challenges. “Every day I’m involved in stakeholder groups just talking about how we address these issues going forward. The hardest one has been the supply chain. Every week we are short some other materials, and I have to work with every building department here to keep moving the ball forward. Of my 30 years, I have to say last year was probably the most challenging to actually just get a home built.” As technology and sustainability options continue to improve, Hodgson says he has been focused on energy efficiency since 1998, describing the phenomenal changes that have occurred during that time. “Not just energy efficiencies, but also water efficiencies,” he SOUTHERN NEVADA HOMEBUI LDERS ASSOC I AT ION