Brownfields Environmental Job
Training Programs Lead to New
Lives for Graduates
E,
Brooklyn, New York
'PA's Brownfields Program is well known for funding
assessments on properties with uncertain levels of contamination,
and providing the guidance and oversight needed to return those sites
to productive use. With more than 1,100 Brownfields Assessment
grants in place that have leveraged billions of dollars for cleanup and
redevelopment, it is sometimes possible to overlook a smaller aspect
of EPA's Brownfields Program: its Job Training Grants. In nearly 90
communities across the country, Job Training projects funded by EPA
grants are preparing real people for life-changing careers. One such
program, in Brooklyn, New York, partnered with an established non-
profit, job training organization to transform lives as dramatically as
EPA's Brownfields Assessment grants transform properties.
In the case of the Brooklyn Job Training Pilot, EPA provided funding
to support a collaboration between STRIVE—a national, non-profit,
job training and placement organization—and the Williamsburg
Works program of the St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation
Corporation (SNNPC), a Brooklyn-based workforce development
program founded by community members and representatives from
local businesses. The result was a training program tailored to meet
the needs of local residents as well as their likely future employers.
According to Michael Rochford of the SNNPC, "We reached out
to [local] employers, we formed an informal employer's council,
they gave us advice on what the curriculum should consist of, we
developed a program model to work here in Brooklyn, and we began
the EPA Pilot."
The resulting program goes beyond simply training participants and
releasing them into the job market. Candidates for the program are
carefully screened to ensure their commitment to completing the
training, as many classes start early in the day and are physically
demanding. SNNPC provides "life-skills" training that prepares
graduates for the expectations of their future employers. EPA Region
2 staff—from scientists to administrative support—provide students
with guidance on environmental careers. And to promote job retention,
support is provided to the program's trainees for two years following
graduation. The EPA-funded training includes courses in innovative
environmental remediation technologies, chemistry, math, site
investigation and monitoring, hazardous waste handling, and the 40
Students in the Williamsburg Works program
during HAZMAT training.
JUST THE FACTS:
In Brooklyn, NY, EPA provided
funding to support a collaboration
between a national, non-profit,
job training and placement
organization and a local workforce
development program.
• The resulting environmental job
training program offers courses in
innovative environmental remediation
technologies, chemistry, math,
site investigation and monitoring,
hazardous waste handling, and the
40 hour OSHA-required training for
hazardous waste workers.
• Since the Williamsburg Works
environmental job training program
was established in Brooklyn in 2002,
it has graduated 520 environmental
trainees who now earn an average
hourly wage of $16.43.
"The EPA training was very
intense and very gratifying,,,
before I went I was very timid;
[the Job Training program] helped me
get out of that. And that really gave me a
sense of self-worth that my family sees
every morning when I get up
and come to work,"
—Karim Moreno,
Graduate of the Williamsburg Works/
EPA Job Training program
continued
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hour OSHA-required training for hazardous waste workers. As put by Michael Rochford, "Most of our
students will have some work experience, but may not have the technical skills to qualify for a high-
wage job. It's very rewarding to take someone that may have been just getting by on a minimum-wage
job and place them on a track that gets them into a job that has real, high-wage possibilities."
One of those students was Karim Moreno, who graduated from the
program's second training cycle. Karim had originally contacted
the SNNPC looking for career advice, and was encouraged to apply
for the Williamsburg Works/EPA Job Training program. "The EPA
training was very intense and very gratifying," explains Karim.
"Before I went I was very timid; they helped me get out of that.
And that really gave me a sense of self-worth that my family sees
every morning when I get up and come to work."
Within a week of graduation Karim had secured a job at Clean
Harbors Environmental Services, Inc., one of the country's largest
environmental/hazardous waste management companies, which
has hired a number of the program's graduates. Tom Columbia, Program Manager at Clean Harbors'
Brooklyn Office, remarked, "...they have been very successful; they've been good employees, and
when we need to hire more again, Williamsburg Works and their program are going to be the first
people we turn to. The fact that the EPA is involved is great, the fact that they take local people and
give them the tools to succeed in this business is, I think, a great program."
Students in the EPA-funded, environmental job
training program at Williamsburg Works.
Two years after graduation, Karim was still with Clean Harbors, and
was eyeing a foreman position. "I encourage any friend, any person
interested in the environmental field [to apply for the training],
because the sky's the limit," says Karim.
CONTACTS:
Karim represents just one example of the more than 4,600
graduates of EPA-funded Brownfields Environmental Job
Training programs across the nation. Since the Williamsburg
Works job training program was established in Brooklyn in 2002,
it has graduated 520 environmental trainees who now earn an
average hourly wage of $16.43. As a result of this success, EPA
awarded additional funding to ensure the program's continued
development. Williamsburg Works has since relocated to a new, state-
of-the-art training facility; now enrolls approximately 150 trainees per
year, and offers 9 different certifications and licenses related to environmental
remediation.
For more information contact
EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land
Revitalization: (202) 566-2777
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Success Story
Brooklyn, New York
Job Training Program
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA-560-F-09-019
February 2009
www. epa.gov/brownfie/ds/
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