Turner School of Construction Management Graduates 59 Minority, Women-Owned Businesses from Training Program in Chicago

CHICAGO, Ill. — Turner Construction Company’s Chicago office recently held a graduation ceremony for 59 graduates of the firm’s 23rd Turner School of Construction Management Program for minority and women-owned business enterprises. Sponsors of the program this year included Exelon Corporation, Federation of Women Contractors, Roosevelt University’s Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, Construction Materials and Supply Resources, and endorsements from The City of Chicago’s Department of Procurement, Chicago Minority Business Development Council, Westwood College, the Women’s Business Development Center and the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Another successful year of making a significant impact to the minority and women owned business community. We are very proud of our 59 graduates as well as the time and effort dedicated by the Turner staff in organizing, supporting and teaching the program,” said Rick Blair, General Manager of Turner’s Chicago and Indianapolis operations.

The free, seven-week training program has been a key resource in Chicago for more than 1,000 minority and women-owned businesses over the last 23 years. The program provides insightful and meaningful tools to local businesses, while offering them an opportunity to develop strategic business skills. The Turner School of Construction Management is designed to provide these contractors 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, estimate, and bid a large 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.

“Not only was the program intensive, it is also helping me to further lead my company efficiently; the friendship and partnership developed from this course was priceless,” stated Mun Wong, President of VinTech Digital Security Solutions, a minority and woman-owned business participant.

The Turner School of Construction Management has been crucial in helping Turner achieve success in awarding over 56,900 contracts with a value in excess of $19.3 billion to minority- and women-owned business enterprises. In addition, 2010 marked the sixth 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. Turner annually completes $8 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. For more information, visit Turner’s website at www.turnerconstruction.com.