he Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of America does not sit idly by when it sees the need to train members.

AGC of America, parent organization of AGC of Alaska, recently launched a twelve-part training course entitled AGC Emerging Contractors Education Series, which seeks to provide a solid foundation for basic contracting business knowledge in an easy-to-use online video format. The training series is free to members and available for a modest fee to nonmembers.

Educational opportunities for members are an integral part of AGC’s mission.

“The Emerging Contractors Series features twelve distinct modules covering critical issues of great importance to small contractors,” says Jeff Wilson, vice president of marketing, business development and member engagement at AGC of America. “It is not required to view the whole series; each module is set up as a stand-alone session.”

“Nonmembers may access the series, but they have to sign up to view it, so we are collecting nonmember data,” Wilson says. “To date, thirty-five nonmembers have signed up.”

“It was a Board initiative,” says Building Division Director Sarah Gallegos, who helped create the framework for the modules.

The AGC of America Board of Directors discussed what emerging contractors needed to know and broke the topics into manageable pieces.

“It’s designed to catapult their career from mom-and-pop to bigger, better things,” Gallegos says. “It’s about what they need to get them on the track and propel them forward.”

“It’s a one-stop-shop for all their questions about establishing and growing their business,” says Clare Kreilkamp, AGC of Alaska’s membership director.

Kreilkamp says she’s viewed some of the modules to better understand the series. “It’s all really interesting information, especially the bidding modules,” she says. “If they want to improve their bidding capability, that module is very helpful.”

Bidding for state and federal projects can be especially onerous for contractors because of the amount and detail of information needed to complete a bid.

In Module 8: Bidding and Estimating, Daniel Beatty, senior director of estimating for Alberici Constructors in St. Louis, Missouri, speaks about how to be successful in construction, where a contractor must become skilled at estimating, bidding, and winning work. The key takeaways of the module include: factors to consider in the decision to bid, procurement types, planning and setting up a complete estimate, components of an estimate, quantifying and creating an estimate, turning an estimate into a bid, and post-bid follow up.

“I’m excited to be able to direct members to this resource to help improve the capabilities of our members and the professionalism of our industry at large,” Kreilkamp says.

The lessons can be viewed on the AGC of America website (www.agc.org).

For a preview of the training go to www.agc.org/learn/education-training/agc-emerging-contractors-education-series.