Youth Construct Launch 2022

BLCD is a 100% female-owned MWBE construction & development firm located in NYC, with over 20 years of experience in the industry. With the help of your contribution, our Youth Construct program will be able to provide minority, economically disadvantaged youth with an opportunity for a brighter future in the lucrative industry of construction administration.

Mission:

Opportunity Maker. Social Entrepreneur. Community Builder.

Our mission is to provide vocational training in the field of construction to high school students that would allow them to be immediately employable in the construction industry or prepared for success in construction-related college degrees.

https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/diploma-disparities-high-school-graduation-rates-in-new-york-city/

Graduation rates are lowest in low-income communities. Youth Construct would like to provide these youths with promising career opportunites.

Unemployment skyrocketed for young workers in the COVID-19 labor market. 

Youth Construct hopes to provide immediate solutions for youth that are in need of employment.

https://www.epi.org/publication/young-workers-covid-recession/

Our Goal:

BLCD’s Youth Construct program will first focus on building a program for the local 11^th and 12^th graders of Harlem, with future intentions of expanding. 

The skills acquired provide options to transition into a multitude of construction administrative careers which include but are not limited to Construction Project Manager, Assistant Project Manager, Project Associate, Expediter and Construction Office Manager. These positions could potentially generate a serious interest in the following professions:

1. Architecture

2. Engineering

3. Business Owner

4. Real Estate Development

The Program:

Our youth’s entry-level employment options are diminishing. Many of the students are not prepared to apply for employment positions that lead towards a financially stable profession.  

This curriculum would allow students the opportunity to learn sound construction administration and back-office principles that drive the industry. They will also cultivate practical and formal skills through classroom and paid internships, construction bookkeeping principles (percent complete and estimating), utilization of project management software, such as Microsoft Project, Industry mandated OSHA safety certifications and their significances for management and field staff, the new digital onsite & remote environment and its effects on the construction industry.

BLCD’s product could potentially be a partnership of a consortium of schools, government, and larger Construction Management firms to provide a platform for our two-semester curriculum for Juniors and Seniors.

How our Youth Construct is different from other programs:

BLCD’s Youth Construct would provide a direct response to the increasing need for skilled back office construction administration for both, public (receives government and or City funds) and private projects.

• A majority of construction trade programs for underserved communities focus on adults that have graduated from high school. Youth Construct starts training at the high school level.
• Other construction programs provide mostly hands-on construction field training. Youth Construct’s focus is on exposure to principles and skills that lead to in-demand opportunities in construction administration. 
• Youth Construct also offers the rare opportunity for students to earn a stipend and paid internship with some of New York’s leading construction firms.

Why Crowd Funding?

BLCD’s initial funding will be seed funds targeted towards supporting curriculum, a structural designer focused on the target demographic, program development and research. Our goal is to build a community for these students where they can thrive. Together, we can work together to create a better future for the youth. 

The Team:

The entire BLCD team, including MaeOla Bolton (former collegiate athlete, coach & WNBA player), Thomas Crawley (Architecture & Design), Mahta Ariarad, (Columbia University Business Fellow) and a host of contributing consultants.

Thank you to our supporters: I Fund Women’s Gingerbread Capital Grant, Team BLCD, Franne McNeal, Doctoral candidate, Rolston O’Connor, Doctoral Candidate, Charles Simms, MBA, Sasha Mesonzhnik and Edgard Hernandez, PTAC