An all-girl construction camp in Austin, Texas, is part of a bid from the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) to recruit more girls into the industry early. The 13 middle-school-aged girls will spend the week learning valuable skills as a precursor to possible careers in the construction industry, local television station KXAN-TV reports.
This is the first camp of its kind the organization has put on in Texas, and it comes at a time when contractors say they can't find enough workers. A recent Associated General Contractors of America report showed construction firms expanded their workforces across much of the country between April 2018 and April 2019, with Dallas-area companies creating the second-most jobs in the nation at 9,200.
Meanwhile, women represent just 10% of the construction industry workforce, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's lower than any other industry the agency tracks. NAWIC hopes to convince the next generation of girls that working in the construction sector is a good way to build a career.
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