CANTON –The SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center hosts a workshop on securing government contracts from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1 in SUNY Canton's Miller Campus Center Room 212.

The SBDC says it wants to help area entrepreneurs secure some of the nearly $98 billion in business available through government contracts.

The workshop is sponsored by the New York Business Development Corporation and will be run by Roxanne Mutchler from the Mohawk Valley SBDC Procurement Assistance Center.

Among the items to be discussed is a new bid-matching service that helps firms find leads on government contracts. The web-based program, called BidLinx, monitors thousands of bid sources and automatically sends email alerts about opportunities tailored to match a firm's products, services, and capabilities. The no-cost service is available to all SBDC clients.

In 2010, the federal government awarded government contracts exclusively to small businesses for services and goods including boat building and marine repair, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, real estate appraisal, construction work and supplies, medical assistance and equipment, printing and design, machine and auto parts and repair, paint and wallpaper, bottled water, and professional development training.

Potential bid sources include federal government agencies and military branches, state agencies and authorities, county and local governments, all 50 states and U.S. territories, and international government websites.

The SUNY Canton SBDC is the area's government contracting resource center. Since its start in 1998 SBDC says its advisors have worked directly with 4,435 businesses, helping them to invest $62,320,721 in the area's economy, and create or save 1,469 jobs. Certified Business Advisors are available Monday through Friday.

To register for the workshop or to make an appointment, call 386-7312 or email sbdc@canton.edu.

More information is also available at www.canton.edu/sbdc.

The New York Sate SBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration and is administered by the State University of New York.