Applications Open Now for 2022 Beck School of Construction – Welcome to the City of Fort Worth

Posted on November 30, 2021

Applications are now open to certified minority-owned companies to participate in the Beck School of Construction.

The Beck School of Construction is a partnership between the City of Fort Worth and The Beck Group, a local integrated architecture and construction company. The program offers comprehensive training sessions to help certified minority-owned companies increase their knowledge of the industry, develop their expertise and become more competitive when bidding on construction projects.

The Beck School of Construction recently completed the third year of its program. As of 2020, graduates of the program had received $ 14.28 million in contracts.

Eligibility information

To be eligible to participate in the Beck School of Construction, companies must provide construction or construction-related services and be certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) by the Dallas / Fort Worth Minority Supplier Development Council (DFWMSDC). ) or the North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (NCTRCA).

A certified MBE includes businesses owned by Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians.

Program participants must also have been in business between one and 10 years, have an average gross income per year of $ 100,000 or more by January 2020 (before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic) and be located in the marketplace. of six counties in the city. counties of Tarrant, Dallas, Denton, Johnson, Parker and Wise.

Applications for the Beck School of Construction must be completed by 5 p.m. Friday January 14, 2022. Staff will notify applicants of their acceptance into the program by the end of January.

Improve business equity, one business at a time

The Business Equity team, a division of the city’s Diversity and Inclusion department, partnered with CH Advisors to conduct a study on availability and disparities in 2020.

While the aim of this study was to identify disparities in the City of Fort Worth’s contracting and procurement processes – which ultimately led to the implementation of a Fairness Ordinance companies requiring the city to use certified minority- or women-owned businesses for 25% of its annual contracts – the study also found several challenges that local minority businesses (MBEs) struggled to overcome, such as the Capacity Building.

“The Beck School of Construction is one of many programs that allow the City of Fort Worth and our partners to work together to address some of the gaps in our local business ecosystem, particularly with respect to development and growth. businesses belonging to local minorities. companies, ”said Gwen Wilson, Deputy Director of the Diversity and Inclusion Department.

“Building these relationships between small minority businesses and large established developers like The Beck Group, while developing mentors that can help small businesses grow and grow their operations in a sustainable manner, is critical to their long-term success. Wilson said.

Photo: The Beck School of Construction helps certified minority-owned businesses increase their knowledge, develop their expertise and become more competitive when bidding on projects.

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