Disadvantaged Liberty Street
Residents Trained for
Environmental Jobs
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
he disadvantaged residents of the Liberty Street Corridor in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, are developing technical skills to prepare
them for increased employment opportunities. EPA's Winston-Salem
Brownfields Job Training Pilot recently finished its second training
course, bringing the total number of graduates to 32. Sixty percent of the
class received employment in the environmental sector within two
months of graduation, and are earning between $8.50 and $16.00 an
hour. Program improvements in the second course led to higher retention
and job placement rates.
Winston-Salem's three-mile Liberty Street Corridor was once home to a
booming manufacturing center, anchored by R.J. Reynolds, one of the
world's largest manufacturers of tobacco products. The post-World War
II era, however, brought expansion to other areas of the city and
economic decline along the Corridor. The unemployment rate for local
residents skyrocketed to 83 percent, with 91 percent of residents living in
poverty.
Job support services like those provided by the Northwest Piedmont
Council of Governments Workforce Development Program (WDP) are
critical to reducing these unemployment rates. Job Training Pilot
participants are generally residents of the Liberty Street Corridor and
surrounding areas who are referred to the WDP by neighborhood
associations. The WDP is an essential component of the Job Training
Program's success, as it identifies prospective students, provides life
skills training, places students in appropriate training programs, and
assists with job placement.
The curriculum for the Job Training Program was designed by local
environmental practitioners and the academic community, including
advisers from Forsyth Technical Community College (the teaching
partner in the program), Wake Forest University, and Winston-Salem
University. Before the second training course, a representative group of
environmental consultants and contractors also reviewed the curriculum
and offered suggestions. The 194-hour course provides technical and
safety training that prepares students for employment in the waste
management, private or public infrastructure, construction, demolition,
and environmental and engineering consulting and contracting industries.
Course work involves approximately 20 hours per week for 10 weeks,
and includes both classroom and field instruction.
Students undergo training in Winston-Salem's
Brownfields Job Training Program
JUST THE FACTS:
• The curriculum for the Job Training
Program was designed by local
environmental practitioners and the
academic community.
• The 194-hour course provides technical
and safety training that prepares
students for employment in the waste
management, private or public
infrastructure, construction, demolition,
and environmental consulting and
contracting industries.
• The second training course recently
finished, bringing the total number of
graduates to 32. Sixty percent of the
class received employment in the
environmental sector within two months
of graduation, and are earning between
$8.50 and $16.00 an hour.
"Forme, I now know there is a
place for me in this world, and I
will get ajob which will test my
intelligence and endurance while
still allowing me to be myself and
to maintain my integrity."
—Jody Hudson, graduate of the
Winston-Salem Brownfields Job
Training Program
continued
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By providing a clear description of the training through orientation sessions and a detailed syllabus,
the program had a higher retention rate during its second session. Only two students dropped out
of the second training course, as compared to seven in the first course. Similarly,
job placement increased by expanding relationships with local businesses
and involving them in the program. The Pilot sent monthly newsletters
to employers that contained program background information and
student biographies; held off-site training events at employer
facilities; and organized a job fair that enabled businesses to meet
students face to face. Tim Binkley, the Job Training Pilot
coordinator and an instructor, shared his thoughts on the program.
"I believe in the program strongly," said Binkley. "The sociological
and economic implications are enormous in terms of benefits to
the students and the community at large."
Jody Hudson is a graduate of the second training class who was
offered a position at GeoScience and Technology before the course
ended. The company provides assessment and remediation consulting
for area brownfields projects, and has been a major supporter of the
Job Training Program by offering its facilities and technicians for field
training. Hudson expressed how the training changed her life: "For me, I now know there is a
place for me in this world, and I will get a job which will test my intelligence and endurance while
still allowing me to be myself and to maintain my integrity."
Winston-Salem's Brownfields Job Training Program has proven its success by graduating 32
students and finding employment for 20 students by the end of its second session. The program
continues to improve due to the commitment of the City of Winston-Salem, the Pilot coordinator,
instructors, the Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments Workforce Development Program,
and Forsyth Technical Community College.
CONTACTS:
For more information contact
US EPA-Region 4 (404) 562-8660
Or visit EPA's Brownfields Web site at:
'://www.epa.aov/brownfields/
http://v
Students getting hands-on experience
in Winston-Salem's Brownfields Job
Training Program
Brownfields Success Story
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-04-002
March 2004
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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