As part of the business educational Webinar series, LALCC recently partnered with the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) to provide information on the County’s Small Business Concierge, APEX Accelerator Program for contracting, Certification information on how to pursue government contracts and Human Resources information about Fair Chance Hiring.

The informative webinar provided unique insights about LA County sponsored certification and contracting opportunities to Small Business Owners. The Fair Chance portion provided information on interviewing tips and financial incentives connected re-entry job-seekers. The webinar started with welcoming remarks by LALCC Chairman Darrel Sauceda, and was hosted by LALCC Operations and Program Manager Olivia E. Rios.

Santiago Orosco, APEX Accelerator Counselor, provided information on the 3 steps to certify with the Office of Small Business for seven different certification programs. The 3 steps are 1) Get registered as a Vendor, 2) Claim your Certification Profile, and, 3) Apply for Certification based on Eligibility.

The APEX Accelerators program focuses on building a strong, sustainable, and resilient U.S. supply chains by assisting a wide range of businesses that pursue and perform under contracts with the Department of Defense (DoD), other federal agencies, state and local governments and with government prime contractors. During the webinar, Mr. Orosco demonstrated how business owners could navigate the government website to get certified and register their business for contracting opportunities.

Fair Chance, is supported in part by the American Rescue Plan Program, and is a workforce program to pair job seekers seeking re-entry and small business owners. Participating businesses strengthen their workforce to be diverse, equitable, inclusive and qualify for tax credits and financial off-sets for training used by employers when hiring Fair Chance participants. According to Nenette Zabala, Fair Chance Manager, about 70% of employers with Diversity and Inclusion hiring goals, are not aware of Fair Chance and the financial incentives for Small Business Owners.

LALCC Small Business owners who want to expand their business with government contracts, are encouraged to learn the process by watching this webinar available on the LALCC website. If you missed the Live webinar, a recorded version is available at the LALCC website at www.lalcc.org