University-Coordinated Small Contractors Mentoring Program

 

Audrey K. Tinker

Texas A&M University

College Station, Texas

 

J. Michael Tramel

University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Little Rock, Arkansas

The construction industry remains one of the most homogeneous industries in the United States, with small numbers of women and most minorities in the workforce and in management positions. While women and minorities may have been thwarted from pursuing careers in construction in the past, government and private industry are now making efforts to attract these population segments, realizing the potential benefits of diversity in terms of interfacing with customers and increasing the range of competencies in a business.  Organizations have also been established to advocate for and encourage women and minorities to succeed in the industry.  Additionally, assistance programs are becoming more prevalent that offer education/training to those who desire to expand their business and construction knowledge, either within a company or working for themselves.  One such program was the Arkansas Small Contractor’s Mentoring Program developed and executed primarily by the Construction Management Program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  This paper will describe the pilot program for the State and review analyses that indicate some success, but also suggest that much work and development needs to be accomplished to enhance the experience for future classes.

Key Words:  women and minority educational programs, small contractors mentoring

Introduction 

Historically and even today, women and minorities struggle to compete in a construction world comprised primarily of large, male-dominated firms (Working Together, 1990).  Ownership in construction companies by women and African-Americans is lower than in all other industries.  In fact, in 1997, women owned just 7% of all construction companies, while African-Americans owned only 2% (The Diversity, 2003).  Additionally, women make up only 9.2% of all construction employees, with a majority of their involvement in clerical and administrative positions (Johnson, 2003).   

Small construction business owners face many challenges as well.  As alliances form to compete for larger and larger projects, volume discounts become more feasible which are only available from sizeable, established companies.  This leaves the less significant and less desirable projects for smaller companies, which are often minority or women-owned.  Additionally, small businesses face difficulties with expansion due to a lack of access to capital needed for labor, equipment and bonding (Nesby, 1999).  In fact, a congressional investigation found that women and minorities applying for bonding had to comply with more and stricter standards than companies owned by white males, often forcing them to utilize less comprehensive and/or more expensive bonding sources.  To prevent possible discrimination in the future, a bill has been introduced that would require surety companies to specify reasons why companies were denied bonding.  This would allow differentiation between undercapitalized companies and women and minority-owned businesses (Madigan, 2002).   

Despite these problems, the future looks brighter for women and minorities in the construction industry.  An increased shortage of qualified individuals has and is opening up opportunities for women and minorities to enter and compete more effectively (Nesby, 1999).  Also, laws and a desire for change by many contractors and customers are forcing the industry to transform (Nesby, 1999).  Finally, more companies are realizing the economic value of diversity in connecting with customers due to the wide range of ideas, talent and competencies which often result.  For all of these reasons, mentoring and recruiting programs are being created to assist in increasing industry heterogeneity (Nesby, 1999). 

Due in part to these efforts, the number of women and minorities in the construction industry is growing substantially.  For example, from 1992-1999, U.S. women-owned construction firms grew by 68% (Fort Worth, 2003).  Possible reasons for this change include women’s ability to build relationships and communicate effectively with the project team.  Also, women tend to be team players, which makes them desirable employees (Ft. Worth, 2003).   

Assistance and Progress for Women and Minorities in the Construction Industry 

In 1978, federal legislation was enacted that mandated bidders for federal construction contracts over $1,000,000 submit a plan that included goals for minority representation on the project (Legislation, 2003).  Failure to adequately plan for the inclusion of disadvantaged companies was considered cause for termination of general contractors (Subcontracting Assistance, 1995).  Hiring goals of 6.9% minorities were set for federal projects.  However, this goal was never reached (Post, 2003). 

Today, many large state and federal projects require participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE’s).  DBE’s are either women or minority contractors, certified by state and federal agencies (Working Together, 1990).  These programs provide opportunities for small businesses to become established and compete with larger, established construction firms.  Currently, the future of these programs is in jeopardy as some courts have recently overturned requirements to set aside work for DBE’s (Working Together, 1990).  Research has shown that when these programs are eliminated, women and minority participation is significantly reduced (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2003).  Additionally, with the limited number of contracts set aside for DBE’s, a very competitive atmosphere often develops, resulting in underbidding which harms these contractors (Working Together, 1990).   

There have been some success stories however, on government projects.  The Portland/South Portland Bridge Replacement Project provided many firsts to encourage and promote women’s participation in construction.  They offered on-site childcare and on-site compliance assurance that included daily monitoring of female participation.  In return, the highest rate of women involvement on any bridge or highway project in the U.S. occurred at 9.4%, which included women working as project managers, tradeswomen and laborers (Compliance, U.S.A., Inc., 1998).   

Besides federal initiatives, organizations have been established to promote women/minority involvement in construction.  The National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) and The National Minority Business Council (NMBC), both over 30-years old, were established to address the needs of minority contractors nationwide and to assist in their success (National Minority Business, 2003).  Additionally, the National Association of Women in Construction offers education, networking, mentoring, leadership and community involvement for women involved in construction (National Association of Women in Construction, 2003).   

Additionally, many existing construction organizations are beginning to recognize and reward women for their efforts.  For example, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Subcontractors Association and the Construction Managers Association of America have had or currently have women as presidents.  Additionally, the Associated Builders and Contractors now has a woman as chair-elect (Post, 2003).  Finally, the AFL-CIO says that for the first time it is looking into establishing a national strategy to remove barriers for women in building and construction trades (Post, 2003).   

Finally, headway is being made to increase heterogeneity in the industry by private companies.  Mentoring programs have been developed in some areas that pair larger companies with fledgling women and minority owned businesses.  Major national companies, such as Skanska, participate in such programs and promote involvement as a win-win situation for both large and small contractors (Perkins, 2003).  Turner Construction Company advertises its commitment to utilize women and minority enterprises as well as its eight-week training program for minority and women-owned businesses (About Turner, 2004).  Gilbane Building Company also advertises its commitment to increase diversity and promotes the many accompanying benefits (People: Diversity, 2004).  These are just a few of the many national construction companies that are leading the way to a more diversified workforce.   

Universities are also taking part in encouraging and assisting minority participation in construction.  For example, Northern Illinois University along with other sponsors held a weekend workshop to help DBE’s come together to advocate on their own behalf as well as develop business plans and contacts (Working Together, 1990).  As a result, these small contractors continue to meet and have formed strong professional bonds as well as increased their rates to more accurately reflect actual costs and profit needs (Working Together, 1990).  The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has also established a small contractors mentoring program which will be discussed further in this paper. 

While strides are being made, increased outreach to high school females and minorities is needed to inspire more to enter the industry (Post, 2003).  Currently, “It’s just not something that is introduced… – that this is a viable career” says Arcadia Maximo, a 32 year-old construction company owner (Johnson, 2003).  However, with increased education and advocacy at all age levels, a more diverse construction workforce should result. 

Establishment of the Arkansas Small Contractor’s Mentoring Program 

The groundwork for the Arkansas Small Contractors’ Mentoring Program began years ago with efforts in the State Legislature and from Arkansas Workforce Education representatives.  In repeated sessions, bills were passed in the State that supported a program for small contractor education.  However, no money was allotted for program development and operation.  Prior to the 2002 Arkansas Legislative session, the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) contacted instructors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Construction Management Program to garner their support for a program and pledged to help in its development if state funds were allotted.  Subsequently, support was sought from the Arkansas Chapters of the Associated General Contractors and Associated Building Contractors, two politically influential organizations in the state, so that they would not oppose such a bill.  This was necessary because both the ABC and AGC were hesitant to support a program that would be the front runner for state-funded set asides and add more DBE requirements for highway work. A commitment was eventually made by both organizations that they would back such a bill.   

Then, in 2002, the Arkansas State Legislature not only passed a bill in support of a program’s development, but also pledged to commit $100,000 for its creation.  This dollar amount was down from the budget set for the program of $350,000, but it did allow sufficient funds for a scaled-down pilot version.   

Throughout the following year, exploratory investigations were made both with industry and potential students to determine which topic areas should be addressed.  A committee comprised of interested small contractors and university professors began to meet regularly to discuss their desires for the program.  Input from investigations and meetings was then used to create lesson plans for the various topic areas that had been identified as important.      

Development of Coursework 

The format for the Program consisted of five Saturday sessions of seven hours each.  At least two topic areas were covered each Saturday.  One topic was planned for the morning session from 8:00am to 10:30am, then one guest speaker for 30 to 45 minutes, then a 45-60 minute catered lunch period.  After lunch, a second guest speaker was planned from noon until approximately 12:30pm and then a second session for the remainder of the day until 3:00pm.  After the first Saturday session the recommendation was made and agreed to by all that less time should be spent on guest speakers, so that more time could be allotted to major construction topics.  Thus, it was decided that in future sessions, the guest speaker(s) would speak during the lunch hour so as not to utilize valuable class time.   

Professors and industry representatives served as course instructors.  Also, a variety of guest speakers were chosen who spoke on topics ranging from how to procure government work, to experiences as a minority in construction, to resources available for small businesses.  Course topics included:  bidding, estimating, scheduling, plan reading, construction administration, insurance, bonding, construction accounting, why contractors go broke, public sector construction, Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) format, change orders, safety, and contracts.  Table 1 illustrates the distribution of class time per area and speaker. 

           Table 1 

           Small Contractors’ Mentoring Program schedule           

On the evening of the final training session, a graduation reception was held at the UALR Alumni Center.  Students, their families, instructors, speakers and those responsible for the passage of the initial bill were in attendance.  Speakers and organizers were awarded framed certificates as well as students who also received $250.00 mini-grants for completing the Program.  This served to assist them in becoming more professional contractors by purchasing books recommended during the course, by implementing additional or new technology, by investing in marketing ideas or however they best deemed fit.    

Profile of Students 

Twelve students attended the initial offering of the Small Contractor’s Mentoring Program free of charge. These students were recruited by word-of-mouth from Arkansas Workforce Education and the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractor representatives.  Areas of interest and expertise levels varied tremendously with a mix of general contractors, subcontractors and some simply contemplating going into the construction industry.  Both females and minorities were in attendance.  All students proved to be active participants, asking questions of instructors, discussing topics with one another, as well as interjecting when they had experience in a particular area.  They appeared very enthusiastic and ready to learn. 

Evaluation of the Program 

During each session, instructors and many of the guest speakers prepared and handed out printed materials to serve as in-class supplements.  For example, in the safety segment, handouts included: the multi-employer citation policy, a list of the most common OSHA citations, recommendations on what to do if OSHA inspects a jobsite, and recommendations on how to handle general duty clause violations.  For the accounting segment, handouts included:  a summary of business types (partnerships, corporations…), definitions of common accounting terms, a summary of financial ratios, and many examples of documents and forms related to accounting (pay applications, contracts…) filled in to serve as guides for the students.  Additionally, session evaluations were handed out at the end of each class day so that problem areas could be spotted and improved in future sessions.  There was some confusion in filling out the evaluations for the first class period.  Following were the instructions given on the survey:  “Please rank the following questions on a scale of one to five with one indicating strong agreement, two indicating mild agreement, three indicating no feeling or indecision, four indicating mild disagreement and five indicating strong disagreement.”  Two students filled out the evaluations with a majority of 4 and 5 ratings.  In the second class period, the rating system was clarified and one student admitted to completing the survey incorrectly.  This survey was then changed to the opposite numbers to correspond to the desired answers.  The other was unaccounted for and thus left as is.  Appendix A includes the reviews for each instructor and guest speakers by topic area.  Overall, individual course ratings were very high (averages ranged from 1 to 1.8 on a 5 point scale). 

Upon completion of the Program, students filled out overall course evaluations that would serve as major guidelines for future sessions.  Again, ratings were made on a 5-point Likert scale with one indicating strong agreement and five indicating strong disagreement.  The results of the final evaluations are included in Table 2.   

These findings suggested that five weeks was not a sufficient period for the students to learn all they felt necessary.  Instead, longer, more specialized courses appeared to be desirable.  Also, students seemed very interested in construction-related computer instruction.  Besides time restrictions however, evaluations showed that overall, the Program was fairly well-received by students and individual session evaluations supported this. 

Recommendations for Future Programs    

While the pilot program seemed to go very well, with supportive comments by almost everyone, participants had numerous ideas of how to improve the Program.  First of all, most lacking from the Program was sufficient time. With the restricted funding, class periods had to be scaled back which did not allow enough depth for any topic and prevented some beneficial topics from being covered.  Topics that may have been beneficial included: construction technology, borrowing and banking, marketing, and grant applications among other items.  Also, with increased time, homework assignments could have been given and then covered in class to create a more hands-on experience and expand the knowledge presented in class.  Overall however, the Program seemed to accomplish the goal of opening students’ eyes to all they should know before they can expect to succeed in business.

References 

Compliance, U.S.A., Inc. (1998). Portland Bridge Project:  Executive Summary Final Report.  Retrieved August 19, 2003 from http://www.newit.org/execsum.htm 

Ft. Worth Women’s Business Center (n.d.).  Minorities and Women in Construction Find Networking Opportunities at Entrepreneur Expo.  Retrieved August 18, 2003 from http://www.Entreprenerexpo.org/PDF/Women%20in%20Construct.doc 

Gilbane Building Company (2002).  People:  Diversity.  Retrieved January 1, 2004 from www.gilbaneco.com/people/diversity.asp 

Johnson, S. (2003).  Women are building their role in construction industry.  From the St. Louis Today website retrieved December 4, 2003 from http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/Business 

Legislation Affecting Minority Purchasing (n.d.)  Retrieved August 20, 2003 from http://www.nmsdcus.org/infocenter/Legislation%20Affecting%20Minority%20Purchasing 

Madigan, S. (2002).  Norton backs women-owned construction businesses.  Washington Business Journal.  Retrieved August 18, 2003 from http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/06/17/newscolumn2.html 

National Association of Women in Construction (2003).  Strategic Plan.  Retrieved from the NAWIC webpage on August 19, 2003 from http://www.nawic.org/stratplan.htm 

National Minority Business Council and National Association of Minority Contractors Urge Bush Administration to Include Minority Companies in Iraq Reconstruction (2003).  Retrieved from the FindLaw website, retrieved August 19, 2003 from http://news.findlaw.com/prnewswire/20030522/22may2003170752.html 

Nesby, T. (1999).  Diversity:  new realities for construction companies.  Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce online edition.  Retrieved August 18, 2003 from http://www.djc.com/special/construct99/10050621.htm 

Northern Illinois University (1990).  Working Together:  Report of a Residential Workshop for Women and Minority Contractors in the Quad Cities Area.  DeKalb, Illinois:  Lindeman Center.  Retrieved August 29, 2003 from http://www.nl.edu/ace/Lindeman/Minority.pdf 

Perkins, D. (2003).  Port Authority of New York and New Jersey:  On the Right PATH with Supplier Diversity.  Retrieved from diversityinbusiness.com website at http://www.diversityinbusiness.com/dib20307_News_PANYNJ.html 

Post, N.M. (2003).  ‘Good ol’ boys’ Start to Talk the Talk in Support of Women.  Engineering News Record.  Retrieved December 4, 2003 from http://www.enr.com/features/bizlabor/archives/031006.asp 

Subcontracting Assistance (1995).  Retrieved August 20, 2003 from http://www.sba.gov/gopher/Government-Contracting/General-Information-And-Publications 

The Diversity of Ownership of Construction and All Companies (n.d.).  Retrieved August 18, 2003 from http://www.cpwr.com/publications/page%2009.pdf 

Turner Construction Company (n.d.).  About Turner.  Retrieved January 1, 2004 from www.turnerconstruction.com/corporate/content.asp?d=1938 

U.S. Department of Transportation (n.d.).  The New DOT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Regulation.  Retrieved August 20, 2003 from http://osdbuweb.dot.gov/business/dbe/Fact.htmlhttp://osdbuweb.dot.gov/business/dbe/Fact.html 

Appendix A

Individual Session Evaluations