The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) introduced nearly 300 Las Vegas-area high school students to the career opportunities in the kitchen and bath industry by inviting them to a panel discussion and for special tours of its January’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The event, in its second year, was part of a multi-tiered NKBA NextUp program that aims to recruit and empower a well-prepared workforce for the kitchen and bath industry.
The morning began as Clark County School District students toured the show floor and engaged with participating exhibitors to learn about different areas of the business. Exhibitors explained how their particular enterprises intersect with skilled tradesmen and designers, as well as possible career paths and earning potential.
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Following the tour, the students attended a luncheon and panel discussion, moderated by George Oliphant of NBC-TV’s “George to the Rescue,” that described various lucrative and stimulating work opportunities in kitchen and bath-related fields. The panel featured Ryan Herd, a smart-home technology entrepreneur; contractor Jordan Parisse-Ferrarini, and certified master kitchen and bath designer and NKBA member Danielle Bohn, CMKBD.
Through 2026, 750,000 jobs are expected to open up in the design and construction industry, with hundreds of thousands of jobs currently going unfilled each month in the U.S. The lack of young people choosing to enter these professions may be partly attributed to consistent messages to students (and their parents) that the most accessible path to success starts with a four-year college degree.
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Part of the goal of NKBA NextUp is to change the conversation that college is the only path to a lucrative career. This year’s KBIS event effectively illustrated the many avenues to success outside of a traditional four-year degree. Jorge Fuentes, a former Clark County high school student who attended KBIS 2019’s NKBA NextUp program and is currently studying construction management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said that KBIS affirmed to him that the kitchen and bath sector is not a one-dimensional industry where you “just build.” Fuentes noted that KBIS exposed him to “real-world” examples of various professional opportunities, including design, project management, budgeting and negotiating.
The NKBA is also expanding its job posting capability on the NKBA.org Jobs portal, where members may post part-time jobs and internships that are open to students, even while they are still in high school.
For more information about NKBA NextUp, visit www.nkba.org/nextup.
