A coalition of Baltimore-area businesses created after last year's riots launched a series of free classes on Wednesday designed to improve opportunities for local minority- and woman-owned design and construction firms.
The first class of the 13-session BUILD College Training Program is tonight. They will continue on Wednesdays through Sept. 14 with topics that include business loans, project management, architectural drawings and other topics.
The program is an outgrowth of Blocal, an initiative announced in April that brought together prominent local institutions, including Johns Hopkins, around the idea of hiring more local vendors. Blocal participants said they expect to invest $53 million in renovation and construction projects and $16 million in purchasing goods and services from minority- and women-owned business over the next three years.
The classes are open to firms that have been in Baltimore for at least two years and have annual revenue of at least $250,000. Registration can be found here.