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Na tion a l Minori t y Cont ractors I n st1·tu t e Backgro und~ Hi s tor ic a ll y , mi riority group co nstruct i o n contra ctors h ave b ee n outside t he ma in streafu o f the c ons t ruction industry . Al t h o u g h t he n at i on has approximately 870 ,000 genera l and spec i a l ty con trac tor s , f ewer t h a n 2,0 00 o r two-ten th s of one percerit are b l ack,_ Whil e a r e li ab l e e s t i ma t e of the number o f contractors among other minori ties is no t availab l e , i t s eems safe to assume th at the y too h ave littl e representati on. The developm e nt of minority contractors · in th e past has not kept p ace with the indu s try ' s growth and th e re is no reason to assume th a t withou t assistan ce t he gap betweeri minority contractors a nd othe r contracto rs will not continue to d ras tic a lly widen. The press i ng n eed is for a program to develop minor ity contr ac tor s and t o enable them to d evelop the entrepreneu ri a l ski ll s required t o sustain a ma jor constru ction progr am. I n t h is way , we c an b eg i n to crea t e oppor tuniti es not only for en tr a nce into t h e construction i ndustry as general and s u b-cont ractors, b ut a l so for th e deve l opme nt of skill ed craft job and union members hip op~ortunities. •r h e Proposal: To establish a Na tion a l Minority Contractors Institute which will promote and facilitate the development of mino rity construction contra ctors in the major u rban areas and e nha nce opportunities for minority e ntre~reneu rship a nd emp loyme nt in this industry . �r - ( Specific Goa ls: 1) 2 - To increase th e par ticipation of minority group contra ctors in th e building and c-ons truction indu stry; 2) to multiply a t a ll skill l eve l s the minority group work forc e in that ind u stry; and 3) to ass i st core city r es idents 1 partici- -p ation in the rebuilding p r oce ss in their communities. • ' Me thods: These goals will be achiev ed by: 1) inform ing _rel evant in s titutions o f the problems of minority contr~ ctors and stimulating solutions e ssenti a l for the i r gr eat e r p a rtici p a tion in th e c onstruction i ndustry; 2 ) serving as a f~cal poi nt and sou r c e foi getting technica l as s istanc e to l ocal contract or associations and/or contra ctors ; 3 ) p r ovid ing f or di ssemination of informati o n to contr actors and excha ng es of e x perienc e ; 4 ) ass i sting , as n eed ~d , t he National Minor ity Co ntractors Associ ati oµ; 5) as~ istiny i 11 lhe de ve loprn.ent of lo ca l minori t y contracto rs a ss o c i a tions v1h erever th e d emands indicate; 6) a id in d ev e l 6ping funding sources to pro~ i de resources n e cess ary for loc a l s t aff sup port and loca l working. capital n e eds of a ss oci a tio~ me mb ers ; 7) d e v e lopme nt of ma npower progr ams r e l e vant to the n eed s o f th e c ontr a ctor s a nd to th e communities which they serve. Ope r ati o ns o f th e In s titut e : The thre~ ma jor compone nt s will b e a ) Re volving Capit a l Fund, b ) Techn ical As s ist a nce, and c) Ma npower. A working ·c a pita l r e volving fund will h e lp minor i ty contr a ctors over come c r i t i cal f in a n c ing a nd bond i ng obs t ac l es. C Tec hn ical �- 3 -. r ( as si stance wil l help minor ity c o n tr a cto rs d e ve l op the bu s iness and ma nagement sk ill s nec e ssa r y t o c ompe t e more eff e ctive l y fo r a gr eater share o f th e n at i o n ' s construction bu s i n ess . Manpower t rai n i ng p r ogr ams wil l be d ev ~l o ped - - in c l o s e coop e r a t i on wi th th e b ui ld i ng t rad e s u n i on s -- to d e v e lop and upgr a de c raft sme n at all s k i ll . l evel s. Urb a n Co a liti o n ro l e : The Coa li t ion wil l assume a cat a l ys t role in th e estab l i s hment of the I n s ti tute with t h e goal o f sp i nning i t o ff as a separa t e non-profi t o r gani zat i on as s o on as fe a sib l e . The Co a lition 1 s effor t wi ll include f u nd -r a i s i ng , loc a t ing private s e c tor repr ese n tat i ves willing t o ass is t Ins titu t e programs , di s - ( s em i nat i ng i nform a t ion about th e I nstitute , a nd h e l p ing i dent i fy local commun i ti es for priority at tention . Organi za tion : The Bo a rd o f Directors of t he Institu te wi ll r e fl ec t a p a rtn e r s hi p b e t ween mi nor ity · c ontra c tors and tho s e c onuni tt ed to a s sis ti ng the m. St a f fin g : The In s ti tute st aff will cb n si s t i nit i al l y o f a Dir e ctor and a sectet ary. As programs r ea ch th e d eve lopment and imp l eme n - t a ti o n stage - - a n d as f u nding resou rce~ become ava ilab l e -additiona l s t aff wi l l b e added t o a dmi n i s t er t h e r e volv ing capit a l f u nd, t echnic a l ass i s t a n c e , a nd ma npower p rograms of the I nstitu te. �