The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) has launched the National Hispanic Construction Alliance (NHCA) to support Latino construction businesses and workers in building capacity, access to capital, and creating business opportunities for its members. Veteran construction industry executive George Carrillo will be the chief executive officer (CEO) of this new and independent trade organization.
Strengthening the role of Latinos in contracting is essential to addressing labor shortfalls in the home builder industry and the housing industry in general. According to the Construction Employers Association, Hispanics represent 27.7 percent of construction workers compared to 18.5 percent of the overall workforce. And yet, recent Labor Department studies show the construction industry faces a dire labor shortage. Despite this predominance of Latinos in the construction workforce and the shortfall of overall workers, Latino contractors are underrepresented in the industry. The National Hispanic Construction Alliance will address these and other pressing issues with the aim of advocating and growing business opportunities for its members.
“I am honored to join in the effort to provide future NHCA members with capacity building, access to working capital, and opportunity awareness,” says George Carrillo, executive director of NHCA. Carrillo was formerly executive director of Latino Built, a non-profit led by Latino-owned business contractors working with community and trade partners to improve opportunities in construction for Latino-owned businesses in Oregon. “Strengthening the role of the Latino contractor is essential to addressing labor shortfalls in the home builder industry and the housing industry in general.”
“With a 23-year history of impacting national housing policy, a network of 40,000 members in nearly 100 chapters across the country, NAHREP will work together with the NHCA and with industry professionals and policymakers to advance Hispanics in the construction industry,” says Gary Acosta, NAHREP co-founder and CEO.
A separate national advisory board will help establish the formal entity and ensure the representation of a cross-section of industry participants from throughout the country. Industry professionals and entities are encouraged to reach out to the organization to be considered for an advisory board position.
The first in-person national advisory board meeting of the National Hispanic Construction Alliance was held in Miami in late September.
