Minority Program Graduates New Entrepreneurs
WASHINGTON -- Turner Construction Company, in partnership with the Center for Minority Business Development at Prince Georges Community College, recently held a graduation ceremony for 63 graduates of the Turner School of Construction Management Program for minority and women-owned business enterprises held in Prince Georges County, Maryland.
The Turner School of Construction Management is designed to provide minority- and women-owned businesses with the tools necessary to pursue work in the private and public sectors. Participants learn the essentials of managing a business, including how to develop a business plan, estimate and bid a larger job, obtain bonding, enforce safety principles and establish and manage credit, in order to become better equipped to compete for progressively larger contracts. One goal of the program is to develop a pool of minority contractors with the necessary skills to perform work on future Turner projects. Attendees also have the opportunity to network with peers, instructors and others in the construction industry during the training program. "The wealth of knowledge demonstrated, along with the effort put forth by each instructor was most impressive. I commend the Turner School of Construction Management team for their true commitment to developing and strategically partnering with small and minority owned businesses," said Christopher Williams, Principal of Grace Management and Construction, LLC. "The Turner School of Construction Management training program expands opportunities for minority and women owned firms and Turner's network of partners as we work together to deliver services to our clients and improve the communities in which we live and build," said Chris Jahrling, Vice President and General Manager of Turner's Washington, D.C. operations. The Turner School of Construction Management has been crucial in helping Turner achieve success in awarding over 52,000 contracts with a value in excess of $18 billion to minority- and women-owned business enterprises. In addition, 2009 marked the fifth consecutive year that Turner awarded more than one billion dollars of contracts to minority- and women-owned business enterprises. About Turner Turner is the leading general builder in the U.S., ranking first or second in the major segments of the building construction field. During 2009, Turner completed $8.2 billion of construction. Turner is the only builder offering clients a nationwide network of offices across the U.S. Founded in 1902, the firm is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, a publicly traded company and one of the world's leading international construction service providers. About HOCHTIEF HOCHTIEF is one of the leading international providers of construction-related services. With more than 66,000 employees and a sales volume of EUR 18.17 billion in FY 2009, the company is represented in all the world's major markets. The Group's service offering in the fields of development, construction, services, concessions and operation covers the entire life cycle of infrastructure projects, real estate and facilities. In the USA, the biggest construction market in the world, HOCHTIEF is the No. 1 general builder via its subsidiary Turner and, with Group company Flatiron, ranks among the most important players in the field of transportation infrastructure construction. With its subsidiary Leighton (HOCHTIEF share around 55 percent), the Group is market leader in Australia. Because of its engagement for sustainability, HOCHTIEF has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes since 2006.
