Illinois Tollway Shares Experience Building a Successful Mentorship Program with American Contract Compliance Association Members
The Illinois Tollway welcomed an invitation from the American Contract Compliance Association (ACCA) to showcase its Partnering For Growth Program at this year’s National Training Institute in North Carolina.
ACCA is committed to empowering professionals in their fields of expertise and ensuring equitable employment and contracting practices within the public and private sectors.
During the 2022 American Contract Compliance Association National Training Institute, Tollway Chief of Diversity and Strategic Development Terry Miller shared the agency’s insights and experiences in building a successful mentorship program that supports firms of all types and sizes.
During the “Successful Mentor-Protégé Programs” workshop, Miller detailed the Tollway’s Partnering for Growth Program, its benefits and how it has continued to evolve over time to create greater opportunities for small and diverse firms do pursue contract opportunities with the Tollway.
Nearly 215 mentoring agreements have been put in place since the program started. While the majority of agreements include prime firms mentoring subs, in some cases reverse Partnering For Growth agreements have subs stepping up to assist the prime firms. In 2022, the Tollway has put in place more than 20 agreements connected to professional engineering services contracts as well as construction contracts.
Partnering for Growth encourages prime consultants and contractors to assist disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned enterprise firms and veteran-owned small businesses in remaining self-sufficient, competitive and profitable businesses.
Visit the Tollway website for more information on Partnering for Growth.