Make wishtv.com your home page

Industry Focus: Diversity Outreach at IMS

The Office of Minority and Women Business Development gathered at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week to talk about ways to involve minorities, women, veterans, and disabled-owned businesses in public-private partnerships.

One of the biggest opportunities lies in the construction sector.

President of the Darden Group, an Executive Construction Management company, Akilah Darden, says during the month of May people are enthusiastic so why not bring them to the track to talk about being intentional with equitable opportunities for diverse vendors?

They brought developers and contractors who control the contract as well as diverse contractors to meet and formulate relationships. Then they learn their capacity and build a team around them to get the job done.

It doesn’t just include getting diverse vendors but also getting the workforce into the trades to help build it. It is important to find people that do things well and to get them to stay in the state of Indiana and give them equitable opportunities.

Another construction company, Nubian Construction, wants to not only build buildings but build people’s lives by giving them an opportunity to get engaged on projects and grow their company.

Having these big events allows an opportunity for everyone to get engaged in working with minority and women ran small businesses to come together and work on projects.