Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Lexington, N.C., today issued the following statement after the Department of Labor announced it was pausing Job Corps center operations nationwide:

“At a time when the nation is suffering a severe labor shortage in the residential construction sector that is delaying home building projects and raising construction costs, it is extremely disappointing that the Department of Labor has decided to pause operations at Job Corps centers nationwide, essentially shutting down the program with minimal notice and displacing thousands of students. A better solution would be to implement reforms to the Job Corps program as outlined in A Stronger Workforce for America Act. NAHB urges Congress and the Trump administration to take immediate action to ensure programs are available to help better train prospective trade workers and strengthen America’s construction workforce pipeline.”