SAN FRANCISCO — A nonprofit that introduces young people to the building trades through hands-on "summer camps" recently received its second DeWalt Grow the Trades grant this year.

Heavy Metal Summer Experience (HMSE) offers high school students and recent graduates hands-on experience with local trades professionals through yearly “summer camps,” during which they tackle projects in multiple construction disciplines. This summer, HMSE exposed more than 500 students to career opportunities in the skilled trades at 36 camps across the U.S. and Canada. The organization anticipates adding another 25 to 35 camps next summer, a press release said.

HMSE was founded in 2021 to address the construction industry’s ongoing labor shortage. According to DeWalt, an estimated 10 million global manufacturing jobs are currently unfilled. DeWalt’s Grow the Trades grant bolsters the efforts of nonprofit organizations dedicated to attracting workers to the trades. The program awards funding and tool donations yearly as part of a $30 million commitment over five years, the press release said.

HMSE received the Grow the Trades grant once before, in February. It’s one of 70 organizations DeWalt anticipates will help train and reskill more than 55,000 tradespeople in 2024.

“Our partnership with DeWalt has meant so much to us,” HMSE co-founder Angie Simon said. “Their passion to grow the trades is evident in this grant and the many more they have issued. They truly care about the future of the industry and are putting their money where they can help initiate change.”

“DeWalt is immensely proud to support Heavy Metal Summer Experience as they work to attract the tradespeople of tomorrow, moving us closer to our shared goal of closing the trade skills gap,” Stanley Black & Decker power tools group president Frank Mannarino said. “Funding educational programs and nonprofits like HMSE connects more people to training, resources, and opportunities that will lead to successful careers in the trades.”

HMSE is a 501(c)(3) company made possible by industry professionals, vendors who donate tools and materials, and construction contractors across the country who are dedicated to bringing the next generation of skilled workers into high-paying careers in the unionized building trades, the press release said. Click here for more information on the Heavy Metal Summer Experience.