Portland, OR (June 4, 2007) – The Housing Predictor Top 25 Market Forecast, the leading industry website for the United States lists Washington, Oregon and Idaho as one of the top 25 markets for home sales.  In a special June 4 report entitled “The Worst May be Over in the U.S. Real Estate Slowdown,” the three Pacific Northwest states are in the top 14 for home sales and home appreciation rates.   

The construction industry is growing rapidly, www.WageAccess.com reports that benefits and wages for this industry start at $13/hour and quickly rise to $25/hour. Yet Oregon is desperately in need of skilled and certified construction workers. 

In April of 2006, the Home Builders Association of Portland, the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the Associated General Contractors, Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. and The Oregon and Southwest Washington Chapter of the National Utilities Contractors pooled their resources to sponsor the Northwest College of Construction, an open enrollment educational institution offering programs that offer training and certification for successful career advancement in the construction industry. 
 The Northwest College of Construction currently has 250 students enrolled. Yet only 25 students are women. 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor of the two million people employed in construction, fewer than 190,000 are women.  Although women represent less than 10 percent of the construction workforce nationwide, they are slowly growing in number year after year. 

Carol Helms of Legend Homes who was recently promoted from assistant project manager, to director of quality assurance, would like to see the number of women in construction grow much faster.  She says construction jobs offer women great opportunities and more importantly, good family wage salaries and benefits.  Mr. Helms credits her employer, Legend Homes, for fostering equal opportunities for women in a traditionally male-dominated profession. 

Women work in nearly every department at Legend Homes, from groundbreaking and construction at multiple building sites to high-level executive positions. Today, Helms, who reports directly to the Legend Homes President Jim Chapman is responsible for ensuring quality assurance at all Legend Homes' communities.  

As director of quality assurance, Ms. Helms is responsible for every nail and board, in fact she is responsible for every aspect of the interior and exterior quality of every Legend Homes built.  This currently represents 14 homesites in Oregon where over 1,000 homes and town homes are under construction.

She tracks production and construction schedules, does site inspection, and supervises all contractors. Near the completion of each home, Helms does inspection to ensure that every home meets Legend Homes’ specifications, which includes the green-built EarthAdvantage® certification, making them more energy efficient (by at least 15%) and environmentally responsible.

Ms. Helms wants young women to know that construction has multiple, well-paid and satisfying opportunities for women who choose this industry.  Helms notes that many women think it’s too hard to pursue careers in the field, “but it’s not if you know what you are doing, especially now that there are opportunities and excellent training at the Northwest College of Construction.  Schools like that just weren’t around when I learned my basics.” 

From a very young age, Helms became attracted to home building. That interest turned into a career, in part because Helms sought peer support, “when I lived in North Carolina, I was a member of the National Association for Women in Construction, and they did a really great job of going into schools and providing mentors for young women,” says Helms.

She admits that it has been challenging working with and now supervising men.  “Sometimes you feel like you have to prove yourself a little more than men do in order to gain respect and recognition,” says Helms.  “You really have to put yourself out there and prove that you have the knowledge and skill set needed to get the job done.  As a woman, you are always being tested before achieving respect from your peers, and respect is everything.”

 Ms. Helms wants to send a strong message to young women, that construction is not a field for men only. “It's something that I think companies can foster to increase interest in the field and let women know that they can have a successful and promising career in home building.  Some women don’t realize the opportunity is out there, or that women in the construction field have the potential to do great things.”