CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM GEARED TO HELPING SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

The Miami-Dade County Department of Small Business Development and Turner Construction Company recently hosted graduation ceremonies for 56 people from 45 companies who participated in the annual Turner School of Construction Management Training Course.

The course provides participants from all aspects of the construction industry with training and continuing education units. In

This year, it began March 29 at the Miami Dade College Kendall Campus, running nightly on Tuesdays and Thursdays through June 21.

The graduation ceremony took place June 23 at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus Chapman Conference Center. Each participant got a certificate of completion.

Additional partners in the training program are the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, Miami Dade College Community Education and the Southern Florida Minority Supplier Development Council.

Many participants are the county-certified owners and operators of the company they represent. They include small business owners who function as general contractors and subcontractors offering services and products such as interior design, painting, landscaping, flooring, land clearing, construction cleaning, tile, roofing, cabinetry, electrical, plumbing and other businesses related to the construction industry.

The course covers topics such as business development, pre-construction and estimating, contract surety bonds, bidding and purchasing procedures, safety on the jobsite, quality control, contract risk management, contracts 101, building information modeling (BIM), Introduction to green building, LEED, blue print reading and specifications, construction ethics, chapter 558 construction defects, chapter 489 construction law and rules and much more, including community presenters with topics such as “how to do business” with various organizations.

Turner Construction Company has for more than a quarter-century offered free training courses that have helped many people. One of its major community contributions has been to provide these professional construction management courses to help small, minority and women owned professionals work and compete for contracts in the construction industry.

The training program serves to expand the skills of minority, women, disadvantaged and small-business enterprises and the company says it has been crucial in helping Turner achieve successful contracts with M/WBEs across the country.

Since it began in 1969, 32,000 graduates have passed through the program nationally.