A venture to help newly formed Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) firms understand the essentials of running a construction company is being wrapped around the hundreds of millions of dollars of Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) work to be done at Ft. Meade, Md.

“There’s no shortage of people out there telling the MBE contractor where to go to get work, but no one is helping them understand the essential building blocks they will need to ensure they are still in business three to five years from now,” said Mike Henderson, president of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).

ABC was awarded a Workforce ONE Maryland project grant for Base Realignment and Closure-related workforce development efforts.

Matt Stevens, an author and consultant with more than 30 years’ experience in the construction industry, will run the program ABC is calling The Contractors Boot Camp. He is president of Stevens Construction Institute Inc.

ABC will work in partnership with Hensel Phelps Construction, one of the largest construction firms in the region, to manage the training program. In early 2008, Hensel Phelps was awarded a $350 million contract at Ft. Meade as part of BRAC. There is a 51-percent Small Business Participation Requirement on the contract. Hensel Phelps will be recruiting firms from its pool of small businesses to participate in the training.

The Workforce ONE program was founded by the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Registration through a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to address workforce challenges posed by the Base Realignment and Closure Act.

About Stevens Construction Institute

Stevens Construction Institute offers management advising to construction contractors. Stevens Construction Institute is located at: 2431 Aloma Ave., Suite 168 Crealde Business Center, Winter Park, Fla., 32792.

For more information, visit www.stevensci.com or www.abcbaltimore.org.

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