In an effort to increase the number of African American and other disadvantaged minority construction workers, the Associated General Contractors of America has announced a new scholarship program.
Working with Procore Technologies, a construction management software company based in Carpinteria, California, AGC is sponsoring a program for students attending historically black colleges and universities, otherwise known as HBCUs.
In a statement, Stephen Sandherr, AGC’s chief executive officer, remarked that the scholarships will “put a new and more diverse generation of students on track to become tomorrow’s construction leaders and innovators.”
The scholarship program is being launched with a $250,000 gift from Procore, which the AGC has pledged to equal and exceed.
According to the National Association of Minority Contractors, African Americans currently account for some 17% of the nation’s construction workforce, with Hispanics at roughly 30%.
Those numbers represent an increase over the decades: in 1996 African Americans made up 7.5% of construction workers nationally, while Hispanics were at just under 12%.
By Garry Boulard
