Page B8
_______________________
1& Minority & Small Business W eek________
September 26, 2007
Construction Business
Jump Starts with College
Nonprofit school
privately funded
See related photo from It front
Cultural diversity is being pro­
moted at the Northwest College
of Construction, a privately
funded nonprofit school giving
people high-performance skills
to compete in the construction
marketplace.
The college, located at 8111
N.E. Holman St., reaches out to
econom ically disadvantaged
youth, helping them to become
knowledgeable of the career-
advancement opportunities in the
construction industry.
As baby boomers approach
their retirement and fewer ap-
plicants enter into construction,
the industry faces an unprec­
edented workforce shortage.
The college’s mission is to
develop quality workers by of­
fering lifelong learning in craft,
technical, supervisory and man­
agement education.
Most of the students have
their classes entirely paid by
apprenticeship programs in the
construction trades, such as
carpenters, laborers, heavy
equipment operators and ma­
sons. Others have employers
who pay for classes and train­
ing.
About a third of the appren­
ticeships are tilled by minorities
and about six percent are
women.
The college is the first of its
kind in the Pacific Northwest.
Offerings include heavy equip­
ment programs, carpentry, sheet
metal and heating ventilation air
conditioning, pipelaying, roofing,
blueprint reading, project man­
agement and supervisory train­
ing.
Management and some tech­
nical courses are offered in
short-term seminar format to
accommodate busy schedules.
All classes are taught by expe­
rienced tradespeople and indus­
try experts who are trained in
education.
To view a full schedule of
class offerings, visit nwcoc.com.
You can also get more informa­
tion or arrange for a tour of the
campus by calling NWCC at
503-256-7300.
Minority Business Tradeshow
continued
Caution: Business
opportunities ahead
Let’s build together. Help us meet our goal to award
20% of our business opportunities to small businesses,
from H4
MED W eek speech, “ Staying
M o tiv a te d in C h a lle n g in g
Tim es” is sure to leave the
audience captivated.
The awards luncheon will
honor the success o f three
m inority ow ned businesses
from Oregon and southwest
W ashington. Each award w in­
ner has dem onstrated dedica­
tion to industry excellence and
a firm comm itm ent to com m u­
nity involvement.
The recipients of the 2007
MED Week awards are C on­
struction C ontractor o f the
Y ear A w ard p re se n te d to
M aurice Rahming of O 'N eill
Electric; Service C ontractor
of the Year Award presented
to Ronaldo M azyck of Paper
Chase Shredding and Recy­
cling; Professional Service
Firm of the Year Award pre­
sented to Faye Burch of FM
Burch and A ssociates; and
C orporate D iversity Award
W inner - Skanska USA.
including minority owned businesses. Visit our Web site
to register for business opportunities.
www.portofportland.com
Minority Small Business Champion
continued
from H5
© PORT OF PORTLAND
Possibility. Irf every direction.
land International Airport and
the n ew est v e n tu re , the
Beaverton Bakery Cafe with
40 full-time employees.
Over the last two years, Burch
has worked to reactivate the
Oregon Chapter of the National
Association of Minority Con­
tractors. The chapter, with over
40 active members, is involved
in all phases of contracting, ad­
vocacy, training and develop­
ment for minority contractors.
She has also served two terms
as a Presidential appointee to
the SBA National Advisory
C o u n cil and was recen tly
elected to the Board of Direc­
tors of the National Association
of Minority Contractors.
Burch attended the Univer­
sity of Oregon majoring in En­
glish and Political Science and
Portland State University ma­
joring in Construction Project
Management. She is certified
by the State of Oregon Con­
struction Contractors Board.
Business Mentors Matched to Start Ups
continued
Thank you
Stacy and Witbeck, Inc.
Stacy and Witbeck, Inc. is a
leader in creating opportunities
for disadvantaged business
enterprises. The company has a
proven track record completing
construction projects on time
and on budget.
from It 7
and encourages small business
to explore the Mentor Protégé
Program.
“Bottom line, our goal in this
program is to increase access
and participation of small busi­
nesses in Port business oppor­
tu n itie s ,” says R hondda
Edmiston, Small Business De­
velopment Program Manager.
Thank you for supporting
TriMet’s commitment
to diversity!
T R I© M E T
See where it takes you.
1
“A variety of opportunities are
available including construction
and specialty construction; com­
modities such asoffice supplies,
equipment, and fuel; and pro­
fessional services such as envi­
ronmental consultants, survey­
ors, inspectors, engineers and
staffing services. The Mentor
Protege Program is a good way
to access these opportunities as
are our other programs includ-
ing the Online Supplier Regis­
tration Program and the Disad­
vantaged Business Enterprise
Program.”
Information on all of the Port
Small Business Development
programs and applications for
the Mentor Protégé Program is
a v a ila b le
o n -lin e
at
portofportland.com or by con­
tacting Anna Naval at 503-944-
7593.