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CONTACT:
Soledad Calvino (News Media Only)
calvino.maria@epa.gov
415-972-3512
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2018
U.S. EPA to Award $600,000 in Environmental Job Training Grants in California
Approximately $3.3 million will be awarded to 17 organizations nationwide
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC), Hunters Point Family in San Francisco, and the City of Pittsburg, Calif., will receive grants to operate environmental job training programs.
Funded through the agency’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) Program, the organizations will each receive $200,000 to support programs to help local residents learn the skills needed to secure employment in the environmental field. These grants help prepare people for green jobs that reduce environmental contamination and provide more sustainable futures for the communities most affected by solid and hazardous waste contamination.
“Through these Brownfields job training programs, we’re investing in getting Americans back to work and improving local economies and the environment,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “Graduates will acquire the skill set necessary to gain full-time employment in the environmental field and help revitalize their communities.”
Under this funding, LACC will train 60 low-income, underemployed adults in environmental management skills. The core training program includes 40-hour health and safety; CPR/first aid; asbestos abatement; lead renovation, repair, and painting; mold remediation; and solar panel installation. LACC will work with Canoga Park-South Valley WorkSource Center, Los Angeles Housing and Community Development Department, Heat & Frost Insulators Local 5 Joint Apprenticeship Trust, GRID Alternatives, Electrical Training Institute, Health Homes Collaborative and IQ Personnel to place program graduates in jobs. LACC’s 18 years of experience in environmental job training will provide a reliable and skilled labor pool that will contribute to the revitalization of their communities.
“We are extremely thankful to the EPA for their continued support of and dedication to the LA Conservation Corps. The funding we’ve received allows us to train our young people; offering them an opportunity to receive industry-recognized credentials. These credentials are incredibly important because they empower our Corpsmembers to overcome barriers to employment – many of which brought them to the Corps initially,” said LACC Chief Executive Officer Wendy Butts. “The training that the EPA’s funding equips us to offer translates into solid job opportunities and a living wage for our young people in a growing field, but also allows them to continue their work of positively impacting communities.”
With EPA’s assistance, Hunters Point Family will enhance its Green Careers program to offer environmental training, certifications and job placement services to 60 low-income, unemployed and under-employed residents of three communities in San Francisco’s southeast sector: Bayview Hunters Point, Potrero Hill, and Visitacion Valley. Hunters Point Family partners with other nonprofits, the City of San Francisco and employers to ensure graduates of their program are positioned to move into careers in environmental management throughout the Bay Area.
“EPA’s Brownfields job training program is vital in training and placing young adults from Bayview Hunters Point in careers that protect our environment and sustain their families,” said Hunters Point Family Co-Executive Director Lena Miller. “EPA’s assistance has played a catalytic role in building Hunters Point Family’s capacity to provide pathways to viable employment to over 250 individuals annually, and we are honored to be included in EPA’s important work.”
Future Build, a program of the City of Pittsburg, Calif., will train 80 low-income, underemployed adults in environmental management skills. This environmental training will complement Future Build’s 16-week pre-apprenticeship construction training. Pittsburg is a partner in the Northern Waterfront Economic Development Initiative, whose primary purpose is to revitalize the industrial waterfront along Contra Costa County’s northern shoreline and create high-wage jobs for a wide variety of skills. The City of Pittsburg will build on its existing EPA Brownfields grant to provide a reliable labor pool of residents skilled in industrial cleanup who can contribute to the revitalization of their industrial neighbors and to a healthier community.
“Combining the concepts and curriculum of construction, community benefit projects, and the additional union level certifications in alternative energy, environmental mitigation and manufacturing funded by the EPA has resulted in a remarkable workforce of ambitious, highly trained graduates who will be entering the workforce or seeking additional training at the higher level,” said Future Build Program Manager Merl Craft.
Today’s additional grantees include:
- Alaska Forum, Inc., Anchorage, AK
- City of Springfield, Springfield, MO
- City of Tacoma, Tacoma, WA
- Civic Works, Inc., Baltimore, MD
- Essex County Division of Training and Employment, East Orange, NJ
- Full Employment Council, Inc., Kansas City, MO
- Groundwork Rhode Island, Pawtucket, RI
- King County, Seattle, WA
- Limitless Vistas, Inc., New Orleans, LA
- St. Nicks Alliance, Brooklyn, NY
- Sustainable South Bronx, Bronx, NY
- Training to Work an Industry Niche, Charlotte, NC
- West End Neighborhood House, Inc., Wilmington, DE
- RecycleForce, Indianapolis, IN
Since the EWDJT program began in 1998, more than 288 grants have been awarded. Over 17,100 individuals have completed training, and of those, more than 12,500 individuals have been placed in full-time employment earning an average starting wage of over $14 an hour. This equates to a cumulative job placement rate of 73 percent of graduates.
Background
The EWDJT program helps to build a skilled workforce across the country. The program awards competitive grants to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train and place unemployed and underemployed individuals. Individuals completing these training programs have often overcome a variety of barriers to employment. Many are from low-income neighborhoods. The training programs also serve dislocated workers who have lost their jobs as a result of manufacturing plant closures, minorities, tribal members, transitioning veterans, and other individuals who may have faced barriers to employment.
For more information on EWDJT grantees, including past EWDJT grantees, please visit: https://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/
For more information on EPA’s EWDJT program, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding |
