NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A 12th-grader named Isaiah McLeroy says his passion is science — but after hearing about high-paying careers in construction, he's reconsidering.
"I'll get down and dirty. I'll go home, I'm tired, my back hurts, with a wallet full of money," Mcleroy told KTNV.
The Nevada State Contractors Board went to Desert Rose High School, a Clark County School District alternative campus in North Las Vegas, hoping to entice seniors into the building industry.
According to contractors board executive Margi Grein, only 17,000 contractor licenses have been issued in Nevada — but the workforce demand, if it could be met, would exceed 100,000 licenses.
"The industry is always looking for the skilled or new workforce because there is a labor shortage," Grein said.
Grein also says while construction was deemed an essential job during the pandemic and building continued, available workers became scarce.
"A lot of people did not want to go out to the workforce," Grein said.
Desert Rose High School Principal Janice Polley-Augente says skilled trade courses are popular.
"Students really enjoy construction and the process," Polley-Augente said.
The Nevada State Contractors Board also offers several construction scholarships for students interested in learning a specific trade.
