All young people who enter a YouthBuild program, anywhere in the world, pursue a dual mission: to create a meaningful and productive life for themselves and their families, while giving their best energies to improve the world around them. At the core, students learn job skills in construction and in other high-demand employment sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, tourism and hospitality, retail, and information technology. They also learn and refine soft skills such as teamwork, problem solving, communication, and adaptability.
By doing the right thing for themselves, their families, their communities, and their world, opportunity youth exercise their responsibility to give back and pay it forward. And they do it all while rebuilding their neighborhoods, together.
To date, more than 180,000 YouthBuild students worldwide have built more than 35,000 units of affordable housing and other community assets such as community centers and schools. YouthBuild students have also dedicated 50 million hours of service to improve their local urban, rural, and tribal communities. Around the world, YouthBuild students and graduates have mobilized as part of rebuilding efforts in the wake of natural disasters.