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OCII workshop: six‑month SBE and local‑hire report shows progress but construction goals lag
Summary
OCII presented a Jan–June 2016 report showing professional services contracting to small businesses exceeded targets (~65%) while construction contracting lagged (about 39%); staff and OEWD/CityBuild discussed workforce pipeline, CityBuild Academy placements, and barriers such as GED, drug testing and driver's-license requirements.
At a July 19 workshop the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure presented its January–June 2016 Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and local‑hire report, showing gains in professional services contracting but continuing challenges meeting construction‑contract SBE and local‑hire targets.
Contract Compliance Supervisor Raymond Lee said professional services awards met or exceeded OCII's 50% SBE goal (approximately 65% of dollars awarded during the six‑month period), while construction awards during the same period constituted roughly 39% to small businesses. On aggregate across active projects, OCII reported $1.7 billion in activity with about 39.7% awarded to small businesses.
Lee discussed distributional patterns by ethnicity and gender, noted that female (minority and non‑minority) firms appear underrepresented in larger professional awards, and described efforts to expand joint ventures, associations and developer commitments to build small‑business capacity. He also presented workforce metrics: roughly 6 million work hours logged across OCII projects, of which about 1.6 million hours (≈26.4%) were performed by San Francisco residents, and Bayview Hunters Point residents accounted for a substantial share of local hours in shipyard projects.
CityBuild manager Ken Nim described CityBuild Academy expansions (three cycles per year) and a 95% placement rate for graduates, with about 80% retention in construction year‑to‑year among placed trainees. Nim and OEWD staff outlined supportive services (tool kits, initiation fees, grocery/gas cards and FastPass assistance) but said barriers remain: high‑demand trades, drug‑screen requirements, union entry requirements (GED/high‑school diploma) and a constrained local labor pool.
Public commenters including Pete Varma (National Association of Minority Contractors) and local residents urged stronger capacity building for minority contractors, better supplier participation and attention to project areas such as the Western Addition and Transbay where local participation is low.
Commissioners requested additional comparative data with citywide programs and greater disaggregation by sector and gender; staff agreed to provide follow‑up datasets and continue outreach and capacity‑building efforts. The workshop was informational and no commission action was required.
