SMALL CONTRACTORS are now ready to take on the competition in Barbados and the wider Caribbean as a result of the launch of Caribbean Contractors & Construction Inc. at Savannah Hotel yesterday.
Chairman Michael Chandler, in launching the project, said that for years small contractors had little or no success because they were not efficiently equipped to deal with the many challenges they faced in delivering products of a high standard.
“The truth is that most of them lacked the management skills to timely and successfully carry out any sizeable project,” he stated.
However, with a competent board of directors offering a range of expertise and some of the best architects, engineers, accountants, project managers and quantity surveyors, the group is ready to provide customers with high-quality workmanship, timely delivery of services and prices within budget.
Chandler, noting that the launch could not have been a reality without the guidance and strong financial support of the Small Business Association (SBA), said after many disappointments and setbacks the group had decided to take a different approach.
“One of the decisions that helped us to move forward is when the management of Four Seasons were looking for skilled workers and it was reported that not enough persons could be found and they were looking offshore.
“That does not [speak well of] Barbados, and as a result we decided to come together and get good management skills so that we will no longer hear, ‘We cannot find skilled workmen’,” he stated.
The chairman, like SBA president Celeste Foster, noted that several courses would be offered in business law, construction law, scheduling, project management and more.
Foster pointed out that in the past there had been instances of small contractors taking funds from one project and using them on another and not being able to finish any, and this showed the need for a different approach and the necessary training.
