Norbord donates US$1m to help with rebuilding Texas and Florida

"The construction industry is already afflicted by labour shortages, and the demand for framers will grow considerably due to the storm damage," said Peter Wijnbergen, president and CEO of Norbord.

"Building on the success of our 'Thank A Framer' campaign, we are donating US$1m to the HBI. This money will go to training and educating new construction professionals to help Texas and Florida rebuild."

The funding will enable HBI to expand and extend its existing training programmes in Texas and Florida. These funds will provide valuable long term jobs for hard-working Americans, offer support for those who need to rebuild and help ease the labour shortage in the industry.

The HBI supports diversity and provides training for prospective construction professionals, veterans and underserved youth and is celebrating 50 years of skills training in the building industry this year.

"We can't think of a better way to show our support to the rebuild efforts in Texas and Florida by continuing to support the HBI's training programmes for the construction industry," said Mr Wijnbergen.