Success Story
GREEN JOBS RESULTING
IN SUSTAINABLE CAREERS
Richmond, CA
The Richmond Brownfields Job Training Partnership (RBJTP) program offers
disadvantaged and unemployed city residents the job training and support network
they need to develop environmental careers.
HIGHLIGHT
Local private firms have committed to
hiring program graduates.
The 250-hour program provides
graduates with six certification
modules tailored to the local and
regional job markets.
The City of Richmond's Employment
and Training Department (ETD) has
leveraged millions of dollars from
local private sector employers for its
training programs.
In 2009, the City of Richmond, California was awarded a $500,000 EPA
Brownfields Job Training Grant to support the operation of the Richmond
Brownfields Job Training Partnership (RBJTP or Partnership) program. EPA's
Brownfields Program awards job training grants to training programs that
teach unemployed and underemployed individuals how to evaluate and clean
up former industrial and commercial sites.
Community History
The City of Richmond is a diverse community with a rich history. The city
has served as an industrial and commercial hub since the beginning of the
20th century. Its growth has been linked to its geographic placement, as it is
accessible by both land and sea. In the past century, the city has experienced
a population boom, a severe decline, and an eventual resurgence.
ITACTS: U.S. EPA Region 9 (213) 244-1821 or visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields
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Richmond first began to industrialize in 1899 when
the Santa Fe Railroad made Point Richmond its
western terminus, followed two years later by Standard
Oil Company building a refinery. By 1905, the year
Richmond became incorporated as a city, the area
had been established as an industrial town. The
outbreak of World War II greatly increased the pace of
industrialization in Richmond, as it became home to the
biggest wartime shipbuilding operations on the West
Coast. The city became a boomtown almost overnight,
with its population quadrupling from 1940 to 1943.
People streamed in from across the country to become
part of the workforce, living in temporary housing units.
After the war, Richmond experienced a rapid decline
in both industrial production and population. By
1960 the population had decreased by 30 percent
and deindustrialization had taken root. To address
waning industrial production, the city initiated many
redevelopment projects, taking advantage of its
vacated shipyards to encourage the growth of new
industrial and commercial opportunities. These projects
created strong growth in warehousing, distribution, and
chemical and research facilities. Since the 1960s the
city's population has recovered; however, the legacy of
Richmond's industrial production has left an indelible
mark on the community. California's Department of
Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has identified more
than 25 sites, covering over 14 million square feet, as
brownfields.
While Richmond's residents are diverse, with minority
groups making up over 75 percent of the city's
population, the city suffers from serious social and
economic problems and is considered a disadvantaged
community. The recent severe economic downturn
has hit Richmond especially hard, adversely affecting
unemployment in a community that already suffers high
poverty and high school dropout rates.
Richmond Brownfields Job Training Partnership
Richmond used its EPA Brownfields Job Training Grant
to create the RBTJP, a program designed to educate,
train, and place participants in the environmental
cleanup and green industries workforce. The
Partnership is administered through the Richmond
BUILD program, which is part of the city's Employment
and Training Department (ETD). Richmond BUILD is
the city's green job training program and the city has
used its experience and expertise to jumpstart the
Partnership.
The RBTJP is a three-year program comprised of four
10-week training cycles. The majority of the training
will take place during years one and two, with follow-
up services, refresher training and program evaluation
in year three. Each 10-week cycle will include nine
components totaling 250 hours of training. The
Partnership will train about 130 participants and has
an anticipated job placement rate of 80 percent. It will
benefit from its collaboration with the Richmond BUILD
program, which has a waitlist of over 350 people that
can be tapped for qualified participants.
The training program includes six certification
modules including: Hazardous Waste Operations
and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER)
certification; lead, asbestos and mold abatement
certifications; Bay Area Technical Training (BATT)
certification; and Richmond BUILD certification.
BATT certification is provided by the Bay Area Training
Trust and teaches trainees about the hazards and
safeguards related to work in refineries, chemical
plants, and other industrial facilities. Richmond BUILD
certification trains the participants in construction skills
and educates them on the current California Green
Building Standards Code, which includes areas such
as energy efficiency, HVAC design, construction waste
reduction, and environmental quality. Participants are
also given hands-on training in both solar electric and
solar thermal installation.
Participants in the Partnership must be residents of the
City of Richmond, considered low income, classified as
unemployed or underemployed, and express genuine
interest in pursuing a career in the environmental or
green jobs industry. Applicants to the program are
assessed to determine their math and literacy levels,
as well as their pre-construction skills aptitudes.
Once accepted, participants complete an Individual
Education and Employment Plan (IEEP) that sets
personal goals to be achieved during and after training.
Leveraged Support
The Richmond BUILD program has been a model of
effective and broad public-private partnerships since its
creation in 2007. It has won several awards including
the 2008 FBI's Director's Community Leadership Award.
Its success has allowed the city to leverage significant
resources for the Partnership.
Richmond BUILD is comprised of three facilities totaling
over 35,000 square feet and includes classrooms,
a computer lab, and open space for hands-on
CONTACTS: U.S.
gion 9 (213)
rownfields Web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields
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Five graduates of the RBJTP
program were hired to assist
in the Gulf of Mexico cleanup
in the wake of the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill.
construction training. Program funding has also been
leveraged from key partners, including: Richmond
Housing Department, Neighborhood Stabilization
Program, and the Energy Efficiency Block Grant.
Other key partners will provide non-environmental
programming to
RBJTP training
participants—
including
Opportunity
West, a
community-
based
organization in
Central Richmond; West Contra Costa Adult Education;
and Contra Costa Community College.
The Richmond Housing Authority (RHA), as well as a
number of private environmental firms, has expressed
strong interest in hiring graduates of the RBJTP
program. Backing this interest is a First Sources Hiring
Agreement that contractors working for the RHA's Lead
Abatement program, as well as several other cleanup
and redevelopment programs, must hire city residents.
The Lead Abatement program alone will need
approximately 200 workers, many of whom are likely to
be RBJTP program graduates.
The RBJTP program will also benefit from leveraged
private sector support, both in terms of hiring
commitments and funding. The ETD received a six-
year, $2.4 million commitment from the city's major
petroleum firm for its training programs. The financial
commitments of this firm and several other private
sector employers increase the incentive for these
companies to hire RBJTP program graduates.
Program Graduates' Success to Date
As of October 2010, 3 classes have completed the
RBJTP training program, with 22 out of the 34 program
graduates already finding work. The average hourly
wage for those who graduated and found employment
is $16.25. The employment of five program graduates
is particularly interesting. These graduates were
hired by a private firm to assist in the cleanup of the
BP Gulf Oil Spill. They are provided free room and
board, meals, transportation between Louisiana and
Richmond, CA every four weeks, a per diem and
$17 per hour plus overtime and double-time. They
work aboard a ship in the Gulf utilizing the training
they received from the RBJTP program while gaining
valuable work experience. The job training program in
Richmond, CA continues to prepare its graduates for
participation in the environmental workforce.
Brownfields Success Story
Richmond, California
Job Training Program
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-10-013
December 2010
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
CONTACTS: U.S. EPA Region 9 (213) 244-1821 or visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields
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