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OCII reports strong SBE participation but continued workforce hiring challenges in quarterly update
Summary
OCII reported $54 million in contract awards last quarter with SBE credits of about $40 million (74%) and actual SBE participation about $33 million (62%), surpassing the 50% SBE goal; workforce local hire goals lagged (about 27% for the quarter) with staff citing intense citywide construction demand and apprenticeship capacity constraints.
OCII staff presented a quarterly Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and workforce report on March 17 showing strong SBE performance on contracts but ongoing challenges meeting local workforce targets.
Raymond Lee, contract compliance supervisor, summarized quarter‑by‑quarter performance. For the prior quarter (Oct. 1–Dec. 31, 2014) OCII‑administered awards totaled roughly $54 million. SBE credits (which include incentive credit for meaningful joint ventures and associations) amounted to about $40 million (≈74% of the quarter’s awards); actual small business participation reported on contracts was approximately $33 million (≈62%), exceeding OCII’s 50% SBE goal overall and across professional services and construction when aggregated with partner awards.
Lee explained OCII’s crediting rules: joint ventures and meaningful SBE participation can earn credits intended to incentivize partnerships that expand smaller firms’ access to large projects. He also described OCII’s size standards for SBE eligibility (professional services cap $2M, suppliers $7M, construction $14M) and noted planned harmonization with the City’s updated local LBE size standards effective July 1, 2015, to reduce confusion.
On workforce, staff reported about 600,000 person‑hours recorded in the quarter and aggregate project hours of about 2.9 million since program inception; local resident hours for the quarter were about 27% of the quarter total, with Mission Bay and Transbay trailing other project areas (Mission Bay ~25.7%, Transbay ~24%). OCII and OEWD/CityBuild staff discussed outreach, referrals and the constraints created by a tight regional labor market and full apprenticeship classes. CityBuild and OEWD partners described targeted outreach and training, and OCII proposed harmonizing SBE size standards and additional workshops to improve local hiring outcomes.
Public commenters — including contractors and long‑time community representatives — both praised the program for creating opportunities and urged more aggressive outreach to Certificate of Preference holders and residents displaced historically, including door‑to‑door notification, improved mailing follow‑up, and use of digital tools.
