BUFFALO, N.Y. — With such a large focus on improving infrastructure and several big construction projects expected in Western New York over the coming years, the Northland Workforce Training Center and local lawmakers are trying to empower minority and women-owned businesses to get involved.
On Saturday, a workshop was held to familiarize and walk said business owners through the process of registering and getting certified for the New York State Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Program or MWBE.
Back in October the program run by Empire State Development was revamped with the signing of a series of laws meant to cut down on fraud and strengthen the program according to Governor Kathy Hochul's office.
Since then workshops have been held to introduce the new process and garner new interest among owners looking to bid on state contracts. While the MWBE program operates in all sectors Saturday's focus was construction.
"Historically in the construction sector, there hasn't been a lot of diversity, equity, and inclusion," said Stephen Tucker, President of the Northland Workforce Training Center.
During the 2021-2022 fiscal year the MWBE program paid out over $3 billion in state contracts according to an ESD report and 56% of those projects' "utilization and expenditure" occurred in the construction sector.
"There are significant opportunities for minority-owned businesses it starts with providing them with information and education," said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, who spoke at Saturday's workshop.
Last fiscal year the state also reported surpassing its goal of having over 30% of all state contracts awarded to MWBE candidates. While there is a target percentage of minority and women involvement required for state projects Erie County Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin said because there often aren't enough candidates, more times than not those targets can't be hit.
"And you know we don't have to do just 30% we can go above that," said Baskin.
"It's about growing the pool....you see 50 minority and women-owned businesses...we know there are many more than that out here," Mayor Brown said.
Tucker added that through workshops like the one held Saturday, "we can make sure we have a qualified workforce and we can make sure entrepreneurs have the certifications and qualifications to enter into the construction sector."
Projects like constructing the new Bills Stadium and redoing a portion of the Kensington Expressway are set to have minority requirements but lawmakers realize if there aren't candidates, the work will go elsewhere.
As for whether the recently passed changes to the MWBE system will reduce fraud, time will tell. A database of certified contractors is now available to the public which will make it easier to verify a company's status.