Skilled Construction Training Center Opens in Orlando

The BuildStrong Academy of Orlando is open to train and place area students who want to pursue careers in the skilled trades for the building industry.

The new center will use the Home Builders Institute’s industry-recognized curriculum, one of only three preapprenticship programs recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor,  and starting by year-end 2022 is expected to take about 500 new trainees from beginners to tradespeople who are sought out by employers.

For more than 50 years, HBI has conducted programs across the U.S. training approximately 10,000 students each year through a variety of specialized programs. Officials of the Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization said they are taking a new approach in Orlando by managing a facility that instructs students in several construction trades under one roof. 

“As openings in construction jobs increase and people are rethinking their careers, the times demand that we take an inventive approach to creating the skilled workers so badly needed in the building industry,” said Ed Brady, HBI president and CEO, at a grand opening ceremony here. “Students at the BuildStrong Academy of Orlando will be exposed to the full spectrum of their opportunities in the construction trades.”