Roxbury, MA NEI General Contracting, Inc. celebrated the grand opening of the Workforce Opportunity Resource Center (WORC²).

Designed to engage local community-based businesses and workers in the construction industry, particularly those underrepresented in the market, WORC² will offer “one-stop shopping” resources and technical support to promote worker development, business capacity building, and growth in the local construction community.

Through education and information sharing, WORC² will also endeavor to remove the systemic barriers workers face when trying to access the industry.

“If you listen to the kinds of programs being offered here, they’re exactly the kinds of things that would make a big difference if you were a small contractor looking to become a bigger contractor and compete effectively on construction jobs in the public and private sector. This program overtime will give folks who normally don’t have access to mentoring opportunities the ability to be much better at what they do. And by getting much better at what they do, become more successful at what they do,” said governor Charlie Baker.

WORC² will be home to an extensive curriculum of professional and industry-specific training sessions, seminars, webinars, and mentorships. Offering a variety of learning opportunities for subcontractors and workers as well as structured business development paths, courses will focus on developing and expanding the project management, back office, and accounting capabilities of contractors. All information will be presented in multiple languages to better engage the local community. “The space you stand in today is a project years in the making, developed both out of our mission for affordable housing construction projects to offer upward mobility and opportunity to those less fortunate, and the desperate need for resources to help MBE subcontractors grow their businesses, build capacity, and expand their market,” said Andre Barbour, diversity and inclusion director at NEI General Contracting. “Today, we are we are happy to be open and ready to serve the community of Boston.”

Katrina Conrad, WORC² program manager, will oversee all programming and will meet with contractors one-on-one to identify areas of improvement in their business so that they can remain competitive and relevant in the market. She will also help residents prepare for job opportunities by identifying and maximizing their strengths for success. Formerly of Madison Park Development Corp., Conrad has over 20 years of administration experience and has dedicated her career to fostering and uplifting the untapped potential of low-income and minority workers in Boston’s diverse communities of color.