Construction trades students at the Pierce County Skills Center are among at least 20 teams of high school and college students from across the state who are busy building “tiny house” shelters for the homeless this month. Their projects are part of a statewide competition that takes place on the Capitol Campus in Olympia on Monday March 27.

Other teams from Pierce County come from Rogers High School and Bates Technical College.

Students will ship their nearly completed shelters to Olympia for the Showcase of Skills competition. There, students will add finishing touches to their houses, such as hanging doors or painting trim. After the competition, finished shelters will then be transported to Seattle where they will provide transitional homeless housing.

“No matter who takes home the prize, the real winners are the people who won't have to spend the night in the cold because of the hard work of these students,” Linda Nguyen, CEO of WorkForce Central in Tacoma, said in a news release.

She said construction trades students are developing in-demand skills.

“Pierce County's construction sector is growing faster than anywhere else in the state, and we expect to see growth continue for at least the next six years,” Nguyen added.

More information on the event is available at www.wtb.wa.gov/CTEHomelessHouseProject.asp. You can also follow the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CTEShowcaseofSkills/.

For more information, visit http://url.ie/11pqs