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The U.S. Small Business Administration has recognized Bechtel for its support of small businesses by awarding the company this year’s Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence in Construction.

The award recognizes prime contractors who have demonstrated excellence in their utilization of small businesses as suppliers and contractors.

The award reflects Bechtel’s excellence, innovation and commitment to investing in small businesses in ways that benefit local communities and the broader economy.

As an example of the company’s efforts, on the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project in Los Angeles, Bechtel engaged more than 25 small, local and minority-owned businesses as part of the project’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, which aims to ensure these businesses are represented on large-scale, federally funded projects.

Bechtel, a global leader in the field, is leading construction in Sabine Pass at the site of Port Arthur LNG.

Construction leaders say the effort, which has gone on for more than five years, has led to more than 1,000 new jobs and an anticipated 5,000-plus total jobs at peak construction.

Port Arthur is expected to serve as a flagship energy hub for America’s growing leadership role in the supply for global natural gas.

A Bechtel Job Fair is planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 17 at Robert A. “Bob” Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur

Local Program Director Helene Blair said organizers are expecting approximately a 1,000 people to attend, with Bechtel’s workforce development team in place to vet candidates the same day.

The public is invited.

“We go to the local community first and would love to just source the local community,” Blair said. “We always start with the local community, starting first with Port Arthur and going to different counties in the region.”

Bechtel recently provided the equipment and systems to empower Port Arthur and Nederland students with simulated welding learning opportunities.

The global engineering and construction firm donated virtual reality learning equipment and systems to the independent school districts of Port Arthur and Nederland.

The donations support technical programs that teach high school students how to use welding tools on a construction site. The equipment and systems are crucial in helping students gain hands-on experience, prepare for exams and master the curriculum set by the National Center for Construction Education & Research, Bechtel leaders say.

“This innovative technology uses VR welding experiences to ‘open the eyes’ of high school students about exciting career choices and pathways in the growing LNG industry,” said Kane McIntosh, Port Arthur LNG Project Manager at Bechtel.