Professional Placement Services Achieves Federal HUBZone Certification

Professional Placement Services, LLC (PPS), a nationally licensed, woman-owned small business based in Milwaukee, WI, today announced it has achieved Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) certification through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

The HUBZone program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to Federal procurement opportunities. The program was enacted into law as part of the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997.

The largest single Federal client for collection agencies remains the U.S. Department of Education (ED).  ED has, since the beginning of its current procurement going back to early 2013, repeatedly indicated its desire for Private Collection Agencies (PCAs) working on future task orders to subcontract a portion of the work to HUBZone-certified businesses.  The most recent goals published by ED in documents found at www.mygovwatch.com related to the current procurement indicate a preference that 3% of the work be subcontracted to such firms.  ED PCAs are expected to bill the government $700 million in fees by 2015, meaning upwards of $21 million in annual revenue may be subcontracted to HUBZone-certified firms by then.

Milwaukee has labor available with prior ED experience, close to Chicago.  PPS, already an established government contractor in its own right, operates from a building the principals own, with expansion possible.

“As a woman-owned small business that is now HUBZone-certified, Mrs. Johnson and I are pleased to be able to provide one of the PCAs with a unique opportunity to meet multiple of ED’s subcontracting goals for these socioeconomic categories through a single partner,” stated Craig Johnson, principal of the firm. “Our current size makes us large enough to do the work while able to remain an eligible small business subcontractor for many, many years to come.”

PPS works with Fed Cetera to seek Federal subcontracting opportunities.  Fed Cetera has a network of dozens of pre-qualified companies PCAs can hire to meet subcontracting goals, including those in specially-designated socioeconomic groups.

PPS is a nationally licensed, woman-owned, HUBZone-certified small business in Milwaukee, WI. PPS has government clients at the national, state and local level.  PPS is SSAE 16 / SOC 1 Type II certified has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.  Recent growth has led to coverage in The Milwaukee Business Journal, CBS News, and FOX News.