After months of beta testing in Southwest Louisiana, Louisiana Economic Development has formally launched statewide a free online platform that connects small businesses to jobs at large industrial projects.
As The American Press reports, LED Secretary Don Pierson says the website, called Louisiana Business Connection, was born out of a need to give small and disadvantaged businesses more opportunities.
Since the program began operating in Southwest Louisiana, 54 prime contractors and 322 small businesses have created profiles on the site.
The Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance was heavily involved in the planning process, says R.B. Smith, the alliance’s vice president of workforce development.
“We have so many major megaprojects here in Southwest Louisiana, and many of our small and disadvantaged businesses were trying to figure out how to do business with these large firms,” Smith says. “So we tried to work out a path forward for how to connect with these large businesses.”
Before the website, small businesses had to rely on word of mouth to find out about job opportunities at big projects, he says. When companies moved into a new area, they often continued to get supplies and services from the same vendors without venturing into the local market—a more cost-efficient alternative, he adds.
Smith said there was “such a great need and such an outcry” for a better system that the alliance and others began meeting to find a solution.
“It’s a great tool if we can get everybody on both sides involved,” he says.
