Clark program builds small business capacity
Earlier this fall, a new cohort of leaders of small, minority-, women- and veteran-owned firms in Baltimore began an intensive, eight-month, free, business education program through Clark Construction.
Clark’s Strategic Partnership Program (SPP) provides small business leaders in construction, architecture, engineering and related fields with instruction on vital topics within the construction cycle from bonding to estimating and scheduling to jobsite safety. The program then challenges them to complete a capstone project based on that curriculum.
Shatoya Williams — Community Affairs Manager for Clark’s Baltimore office, leader of the Baltimore SPP and a former university professor — says SPP provides participants with vital, current industry information, access to a roster of subject matter experts within Clark and a high-quality learning experience.
“This program resembles the format of higher education, but without the pressure and without the price,” Williams said. “We call it an executive-MBA-style course.”
Clark Construction launched the program in 2006 and has since expanded it to 10 markets (including Baltimore four years ago). It conducts annual reviews to ensure the curriculum remains current, relevant and important to small businesses, and reflects any changes in technologies or business practices within the construction industry, said Javid Aboutorabi, who leads SPP nationally.
SPP’s goal is to build the capacity of small companies and, consequently, prepare them to complete work for Clark or other companies.
“We spend a significant amount of time throughout the progression of the course talking about how to connect with Clark,” Aboutorabi said. “Participants meet with different subject matter experts within the organization and get connected with estimators, project managers and other executives. Toward the end of the semester and post-graduation, we spend time talking with them one-on-one about whether they are in a position to bid work to Clark or if there is a two- or three-year growth plan to put them in that position. We have ongoing communication with them for months and years so that we can position them to bid work.”
SPP leaders and alumni also remain in contact long after graduation, providing advice on business issues, leads on contract opportunities and industry connections.
To date, SPP has graduated more than 1,600 business leaders who have been awarded contracts totaling more than $1.5 billion with Clark. Clark has pledged to award $2.58 billion in subcontracting opportunities to SPP graduates by 2031.
Clark, however, is not the only source of heightened business opportunities for SPP graduates.
Alumni often team up to jointly pursue contracts they are not ready to tackle individually, Williams said.
In addition, the business skills that SPP participants gain equip them to successfully compete for work from a variety of companies. Williams points to a small Baltimore general contractor who completed the SPP program in Bethesda before the Baltimore program began. That company went on to land work with Johns Hopkins, CFG Bank Arena and Baltimore Peninsula.