In an attempt to help women and minority groups have more access to careers in the construction trades, the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development announced last week that it is making $4 million in funding available through the New Jersey Builders Utilization Initiative for Labor Diversity program.
The announcement was not in connection with the recent disparity study that showed women and minority groups received an astonishingly low percentage of state bids.
This announcement, in fact, goes back to legislation enacted in 2009, which was designed to provide training opportunities for women and minorities in the construction and construction-related trades so they can realize equal employment opportunities in public contracting.