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Gilbane’s Rising Contractor Training Program: A Commitment to Growth and Economic Inclusion

September 22, 2020
Yvette Stevens
At Gilbane, our commitment to economic inclusion and equal opportunity extends beyond policy. It’s embedded into our culture and part of everything we do, from our hiring practices and internal employee training initiatives, to our engagement with local business communities in the places in which we work, live and build.

As part of this commitment to inclusionary business practices, we encourage woman-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned and small business participation on all our projects – regardless of funding requirements.  To reinforce this, we have established a new 20% corporate small and diverse participation goal. It is our belief that diverse teams are the best teams and the relationships we’ve forged with local diverse and small subcontractors and vendors have produced some of our most successful and symbiotic outcomes. These partnerships are more than simply leveraging these organizations as subcontractors on our projects – they work to strengthen firms by broadening industry knowledge and expanding economic reach.

Gilbane Rising Contractor Program

Because of our dedication to diversity and inclusion we have redesigned our contractor training series to the newly developed Gilbane Rising Contractor Program.  This program offers our certified trade partners an opportunity to develop and broaden their industry skills and knowledge, while also gaining first-hand insight on working with Gilbane. This annual program enhances subcontractor competitiveness through increased knowledge and understanding of principles that are essential to owning and growing a successful business within the construction industry. Participants are offered an educational platform that supports the development of business acumen, while also familiarizing attendees with Gilbane’s processes and industry best practices.

Fall 2020 Gilbane Rising Contractors

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions on gatherings, this year the Rising Contractor Program will be held virtually, with subcontractor participation from New England, Georgia/South Carolina, New York Metro Area and the Washington D.C. Metro Area.

The course is broken into seven, two-hour weekly sessions that are split between large group instruction and smaller local break-out groups.

Program Benefits for Participants

  • Develop working relationships with Gilbane personnel in key departments, such as purchasing and estimating
  • Gain intimate knowledge of “doing business with Gilbane,” from bid solicitation to project closeout
  • Receive step-by-step guidance on Gilbane’s pre-qualification process
  • Enjoy a one-year mentorship agreement with a Gilbane project executive who will serve as internal champion
  • Receive automatic bid de-scoping for unsuccessful bids

Program Benefits for Gilbane

  • Grow and strengthen pool of prequalified certified trade contractors for bid lists to improve participation for Gilbane’s internal DBE goal of 20% and client goals on projects
  • Drives competition, provides more value to our clients
  • Economic inclusion within our own geographic markets
  • Project Executive Level Mentorship coaching opportunities
  • Networking

To learn more about the program, click here.



About Authors
Yvette Stevens is vice president, director of economic inclusion and community affairs. In this national leadership role, she leads the planning and execution of Gilbane’s corporate economic inclusion strategies to support our commitment to marketplace inclusion and diversity. Yvette builds partnerships with MBE and WBE firms and drives outreach for workforce development. She is also a champion for UJIMA, Gilbane’s employee resource group for our community of Black/African American employees.
Read more posts by Yvette Stevens

4 Replies to “Gilbane’s Rising Contractor Training Program: A Commitment to Growth and Economic Inclusion”

  1. Charles Jackson
    • September 22, 2020

    Why not Texas for a Virtual training opportunity?

    1 Response
    1. Staff
      • September 23, 2020

      Hello, expanding to other regions is the next step. This is the first time this is a national effort, so it is starting slowly. Thank you for your interest!

  2. Daniel Castillo
    • September 23, 2020

    My question is will there be a Fall 2020 Gilbane Rising Contractors in Chicago?

  3. Rafael C.
    • May 15, 2023

    Hello! Do you have a 2023 Gilbane Rising contractors coming up?

Comments are closed.