The Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) will offer the next version of its highly successful Home Improvement Contractor Training (HICT) course in English in Jamaica over two weeks in mid August.

QEDC will provide an instructor who has worked with many small construction businesses to lead workshops that prepare contractors to pass the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) licensing exam. Classes will be offered on Aug. 16, Aug. 17, and Aug. 23 from 10 am to 4 pm at JFK Corporate Square, 93-43 Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica. Participants must attend all three sessions, and after the last class, they will go as a group to take the licensing exam at DCA headquarters in Manhattan.

The lessons, which cost $300, will be accompanied by free, one-on-one business advisory services, such as consultations on permits and licensing, business development, avoiding liability, procurement and access to capital.

QEDC offered its first HICT course in January 2012, and all participants went on to pass the DCA exam and obtain licenses to work legally as home improvement contractors. Since then, more than 200 individuals have taken these periodically offered workshops and then passed the licensing test.

“This is a golden opportunity to get the necessary licensing to work in New York City’s always active construction industry,” stated QEDC Executive Director Seth Bornstein. “And thanks to our extra, free services, participants can learn how to run a business in addition to learning about home improvement and how to pass a test.”

To register, go to www.queensny.org. ‘)}