Skanska’s small business incubator has led to $740M in partnerships

David Delancey’s father labored in development, however he mentioned he by no means noticed it as a profession for himself, calling it “tough, outdoors work.”

He attended the College of South Florida on a basketball scholarship, earlier than pursuing a profession on the executive facet of the development business in metropolis administration. It wasn’t till his brother studied development administration at Florida A&M College that Delancey reconsidered his profession path.

“We began speaking extra about it and he was similar to, ‘Look, man, it is part of us, you understand? You grew up in it as nicely, so why do not you look again into it?’” Delancey mentioned.

He did, beginning his personal agency, One Day Got here, in 2004. Twenty years later, Delancey returned to USF to see how his Tampa, Florida-based firm specializing in training and parks development may enhance by finding out in Skanska’s Building Administration Constructing Blocks Program.

Skanska USA began the Constructing Blocks program in 2007 to assist smaller, numerous firms develop and handle enterprise challenges, but in addition to search out alternatives to work for and with bigger companies, in keeping with Tracy Hunt, normal supervisor for Skanska’s Florida operations. The U.S. arm of the Sweden-based contractor has partnered with USF since 2021.

The free, multiweek programs cowl a wide range of subjects, together with contracting strategies, insurance coverage bonds, security necessities and sustainability, Hunt mentioned. Skanska staff train courses on human assets or website logistics, for instance.

Then, ideally, this system additionally forges a partnership that each Skanska and the corporate can capitalize on. 

“Finally the aim is we wish to get them in, and we actually need them to begin working for us, but when they’ll exit and have a job going with us and the job going with 5 of our opponents, then the entire neighborhood’s rising, proper?” Hunt mentioned.

Since 2007, the Constructing Blocks program has educated about 800 firms and led to roughly $740 million in contracts with Skanska, Hunt mentioned.

Constructing a future

One Day Got here is a type of companies to enter enterprise with Skanska. The 2 firms have entered the pre-construction part on Simply Elementary Faculty and Stewart Center Faculty in Hillsborough County, Florida, an present campus that’s being demolished and rebuilt right into a $70 million new college, Delancey mentioned.

“I obtained on this program and I knew immediately that I used to be going to be taught fairly a bit,” mentioned Delancey. “Small firms, we’re in our house, we’re in our lane, however we do know that there are different issues that we will be taught to get higher, to work somewhat quicker, to work somewhat extra environment friendly, to develop into higher for our shoppers.”

Delancey described the elementary college undertaking as his agency’s largest alternative in 20 years, as he’s labored on a seamless work contract with Hillsborough County on different training tasks.

“My confidence with this enterprise has gone by the roof due to the assets that Skaska has in place for me as a mentor has simply actually modified loads for me,” Delancey mentioned. “It has modified the whole lot for me on the subject of this enterprise.”