U.S. Sen. John Boozman discussed the challenges facing builders and developers in Chaffee Crossing on Tuesday afternoon. 

The builders and developers agreed that the largest problem they are dealing with is the labor shortage. 

People are not coming back to work in their industry, said Cary Smallwood, with Carrington Homes. 

Another issue that contributes to a lack of skilled laborers is the stigma surrounding trade work. 

“We’ve told our kids for years that you go to college, and you get a job, and so they’re going to be in a different field. But we need people that are masons and trim carpenters and framers. So I think that’s something that we could do be better at, putting an influence on trades," said Justin Green, with Justin Green Custom Homes.

Green said he would like to see trade work emphasized in high school and even earlier. 

“We definitely need a more focus on trade school stuff because college is not all it’s cracked up to be because we know, you know, if you’re going to be a doctor or an engineer or a lawyer, you need to go to college, or you’re going to be a teacher," Walker said. "But if you’re not, you’re getting a worthless degree, and what you need to do is there’s a lot of kids who end up in a lot of debt, and they can’t find a job, or they can’t put their skill to work. But you know we need to emphasize, we need to emphasize this more." 

Walker said kids need to know that they can have successful careers doing trade work. 

"I tell this, we tell this to young people all the time. You can make a great living. Some of the richest guys I know are the guys that work for us," Walker said. "Now they work their tail off, and they work in the elements, but they do what they want to do. They set their schedule, and they can make a great living for their family and for themselves by learning these skills." 

Stephanie Stipins, with the Fort Smith Home Builder Association and the Arkansas Home Builder Association, said when her program approaches schools for their apprentice program, counselors do not want to promote trade work. 

“There’s a stigma to being a physical, working person versus going to college, and so they don’t necessarily want to promote that as the academic opportunity for their schools," Stipins said. "When we talked to them about attending the apprenticeship we established for residential construction it’s always for the child who doesn’t have another option." 

Stipins did note that the Fort Smith School District established the Peak Innovation Center to help students pursue careers in trade. 

Another issue that has been impacting the developers and builders of Chaffee Crossing is the rise of inflation. 

They said it makes it riskier to build houses amid these high prices. 

“It’s a lot harder to make the same money because of all these obstacles, a lot harder,” said Tim Mays, with Tim Mays Home Builder. 

Read the story in the Times Record.