EPA Gives $3 Million in Workforce & Job Training Grants

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the selection of 16 grantees for a total award of $3.2 million through the agency's Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) Program. The grants support local work to recruit, train, and place unemployed individuals in jobs that address environmental challenges in their communities. By providing Americans in economically disadvantaged communities with environmental job training, EWDJT grants promote environmental justice by equipping trainees with environmental health and safety certifications while creating a locally skilled workforce that advances local economies. Rather than filling jobs with contractors from distant cities, EWDJT grants provide employment opportunities for local residents to participate in the revitalization of their communities.

The EWDJT Program is unique because graduates are provided with a wide range of skills and certifications that improve their ability to secure not only short-term work, but full-time careers in the environmental field. The program also underscores President Obama’s call to strengthen job training across the United States. Program graduates  acquire training and certifications in a variety of areas, such as: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hazardous waste operations (HAZWOPER), CPR and first-aid, confined space entry, chemical  lead and asbestos abatement, landfill management, wastewater treatment facility operations and stormwater management, brownfields assessment and cleanup, Superfund site-specific cleanup, leaking underground storage tank removal, electronics recycling, emergency response and disaster site worker certification, clean energy and solar installation, weatherization, native plant revegetation and landscaping, oil spill cleanup, heavy machinery operations and hazardous waste transport (HAZMAT), and uranium mine-tailings cleanup and mine-scarred land remediation. 

As of May 2013, more than 11,000 Americans have completed training through the support of the EWDJT Program, of which, more than 8,000 have obtained employment in the environmental field. Individuals who have completed the training include unemployed, low-income and minority residents of all age groups, as well as veterans, single mothers, ex-offenders, dislocated workers who have lost their jobs as a result of manufacturing plant closures, and other individuals with significant barriers to employment.

The 16 grantees for Fiscal Year 2013 are:

Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, Connecticut – Plans to train 42 students, and place 40 graduates in environmental jobs.

Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board, Massachusetts – Plans to train 45 students, and place 31 graduates in environmental jobs.

The Fortune Society, Inc., New York – Plans to train 45 students and place 33 graduates in environmental jobs.

Pathways-VA, Inc., Virginia – Plans to train 40 students and place 32 graduates in environmental jobs.

Florida State College at Jacksonville, Fla. – Plans to train 60 students and place 45 graduates in environmental jobs.

OAI, Inc., Illinois – Plans to train 45 students and place 40 graduates in environmental jobs.

EmployIndy, Indiana – Plans to train 48 students and place at least 36 graduates in environmental jobs.

Mott Community College, Michigan – Plans to train 51 students and place 36 graduates in environmental jobs.

Southern University at Shreveport, La. – Plans to train 60 students and place 55 graduates in environmental jobs.

Rose State College, Oklahoma – Plans to train 95 students and place 70 graduates in environmental jobs.

St. Louis Community College, Missouri - Plans to train 81 students and place 55 graduates in environmental jobs.

Northern Arizona University, Arizona – Plans to train 36 students and place 35 graduates in environmental jobs.

City of Oxnard, California - Plans to train 55 students and place 45 graduates in environmental jobs.

City of Richmond, California – Plans to train 60 students and place 45 graduates in environmental jobs.

Zender Environmental Health and Research Group, Alaska – Plans to train 32 students and place 28 graduates in environmental jobs.

City of Tacoma, Washington - Plans to train 54 students and place 39 graduates in environmental jobs.

More information on EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants Program