Improving Effectiveness of Equal Business Opportunity Programs

Abstract

A proposal for improving the current Equal Business Opportunity program is presented. The basic principles of the recommended program are: to provide incentives to owners and contractors on both private and public projects to upgrade the status of minority contractors by providing technical assistance or employment; to minimize the role of the city in regulating the construction environment; to make the process voluntary rather than mandatory; to require minority contractors to qualify for the program; to provide an incentive to develop the skills of minority individuals needed to create a nucleus of minority professionals in the construction industry; to educate the public on the importance of upgrading minority skills for both the welfare of the construction industry and the competitiveness of the United States in the international marketplace. This study is based in part on personal interviews conducted with the various interest groups in the construction industry.