HUD sets job training and hiring registry in online searchable database

From Housing and Urban Development 

DENVER — In an effort to help low-income residents in Montana find jobs, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced the launch of a National Section 3 Business Registry that directs jobs and training to low-income workers and connects businesses that hire them with HUD-funded contracting opportunities. 

The registry, available online at https://portalapps.hud.gov/Sec3BusReg/BRegistry/BRegistryHome, would increase opportunities for businesses that hire local public housing residents for HUD-funded projects.

“This business registry will connect hard-working folks and small businesses in Montana, giving them new tools to secure a more prosperous future,” said HUD’s Montana Field Office Director Erik Amundson. “It’s a win-win situation for Montana residents who are looking for training and job opportunities as well as for businesses that hire them.”

The registry is a searchable online database that local housing authorities, government agencies, and contractors can use to find firms that are self-certified as employing at least 30 percent of public housing residents or low-income workers.

In Montana, more than $19 million is potentially available to eligible Section 3 businesses through local entitlements awarded annually by HUD in Billings, Missoula, and Great Falls.  Additionally, public housing authorities in these communities as well as in other larger areas like Helena and Butte are eligible. 

  In conjunction with the Business registry, Montana small businesses can also use BusinessUSA, a joint project between HUD and the Small Business Administration that will allow HUD grantees, including Section 3 Businesses and small contractors to search for and bid on local HUD-funded contracts posted by HUD grantees.

  HUD’s Rocky Mountain Region’s Administrator, Rick Garcia said, “These separate efforts can be tied together to support small and eligible Section 3 businesses across our region. HUD would like to encourage small businesses to use these tools to increase jobs and contracting opportunities.”

  Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 promotes employment, training, and contracting opportunities to low-income residents who live in communities where HUD funds are spent.  Since 1994, the Section 3 program has been governed by an interim regulation. For the first time in 20 years, HUD is proposing a new rule that would expand opportunities for public housing residents and low-income workers.

To comment on the proposed rule that seeks to strengthen Section 3 visit http://www.huduser.org/portal/publications/pdf/Sec_3_Proposed_Rule.pdf.

To register a business, search the database of local self-certified Section 3 businesses, or to learn more about HUD’s National Section 3 Business Registry, please visit: http://www.hud.gov/sec3biz. For more information about the Section 3 program, people can visit http://www.hud.gov/Section3.