Home improvement biz program is free |

The Queens Economic Development Corp. is bringing back its Home Improvement Contractor Training program in English, Spanish and Chinese (Mandarin) online through March for free. 

First introduced in 2012, the program helps those who are informal handymen, handywomen, supers and construction workers, along with those who do contract work such as electricians, to learn what it takes to run their own small construction business.

The main goal of the program is to help attendees pass the city Department of Consumer Affairs’ licensing exam so they can get certified through the NYC Home Improvement Contractor program, which allows them to launch their own business. 

“About 90 percent of the people who take the class and then the exam” — which is given in Manhattan at the agency’s headquarters in English, Spanish and Chinese — “pass,” said Rob MacKay, the QEDC’s community deputy executive director.

To register for the program, go online to queensny.org and search for the Home Improvement Contractor Training section. Class materials and a Zoom link will be provided upon signing up. 

The Chinese HICT class is Jan. 17 and 18, the English HICT is Feb. 7 and 8 and the Spanish HICT is March 7 and 8. All classes run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This year’s sponsor for the program is the Consortium for Worker Education, a workforce development nonprofit.

“We realized [there were] handymen and supers that had tremendous skills, but they didn’t know how to run a company or start a company in New York because most of them were immigrants,” said Mackay. “If they were doing it informally, sometimes they wouldn’t get paid and they had no recourse.”

Initial support for the program came from the city Economic Development Corp., Crystal Windows and Deutsche and Flushing banks, with classes, held in Jamaica and Flushing with cohorts of about 20 participants, costing about $200. 

“Now it is Zoom, so the class is unlimited and you can take it anywhere in the world if you wanted,” said MacKay. “The whole idea is that they take the course, which will prepare them for general operating test and they can get licensed. Once you are licensed, you can apply for all types of jobs — city jobs and state jobs. It is also something you can show when someone is looking for contracting work. … Plus it gives you a lot of leverage if you ever have legal problems.”

MacKay said the classes are taught in multiple languages because there are a lot of Hispanic, Chinese and Caribbean contractors and construction workers and he hopes the program gets more funding in the future to expand its language services for Eastern Europeans from Albania, Poland and Romania, who are also in the industry.

“Someday; you never know,” he added. 

People will learn about home improvement business law and insurance; a contractor’s duties and responsibilities; norms on the content and cancellation of contracts; advertising and selling practices; how to give a quote or estimation; and general industry knowledge, which helps them be prepared to take the licensing exam as soon as they finish the course. 

Seth Bornstein, the QEDC’s former executive director, who retired last year, came up with the idea, said MacKay. 

“I thought it was brilliant,” he said. “There was a need and we saw it and no one else was offering this kind of service.”