Second Chances
through Brownfields
Job Training Grants
E,
Job Training Grants
'PA's Brownfields Job Training Grant programs improve the
lives of disadvantaged citizens by providing job training and life skills
instruction, resulting in employment opportunities that would otherwise
have been out of reach. Since the inception of EPA's Brownfields Job
Training Grants in 1998, more than 4,800 participants have graduated
from Brownfields Job Training programs. Of these, nearly two out
of every three graduates are employed and earn an average of nearly
$14.00 per hour.
As impressive as these numbers are, they do not reveal just how
significantly communities—and the residents within them—are
affected by brownfields revitalization and Brownfields Job Training
programs. Consider Adam, who completed an EPA-funded Brownfields
Job Training program in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. After Adam left
the Marines in 1998, he drifted in and out of jobs, had a failed marriage
and young daughter to support, and was unable to hold a job for more
than six months. After completion of the training program Adam
landed a full-time job with A Clean Environment of Wilson, Oklahoma,
working hazardous emergency response actions all over the Midwest.
Adam grins when he talks about his first week on the job. "It was like
going from zero to 60 in 6 seconds... there was a lot to learn and learn
quickly." Adam has since caught up on his child support payments, and
is saving to purchase his first home.
The numbers also do not reveal the personal struggles or the triumphs
of Brownfields Job Training graduates. Buddy, for example, was born
into a life of chaos, living with his grandparents and a string of foster
families until he ran away and lived on his own. All of his efforts
to create a stable life, be a good father to his young son, and be a
good husband fell apart in November 2004, when he walked out of
his house after repeated arguments with his wife. He left everything
behind him—his son, wife, car, business, and bank account. For a
time he stayed with friends while working for a family member. He
was living paycheck to paycheck and when his employer went to jail
for tax evasion, he was forced to seek shelter at the Oklahoma City
Rescue Mission. One day, he noticed a flyer advertising a class in
environmental remediation. He made an appointment to discuss the
class with the Oklahoma City Job Training Program's coordinator,
Cherry Dienz. Funded by an EPA Brownfields Job Training grant, the
program sounded like a perfect opportunity to develop a career in an
area of work in which he was familiar and interested. He started work
I
A student celebrates his graduation for the
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Job Training Program.
JUST THE FACTS:
• Job Training Grant programs offer
participants a second chance on their
career and their future, helping to
create jobs and improve lives.
• EPA has facilitated more than 3,100
Job Training graduates in obtaining
employment, earning an average of
$13.84 per hour.
• Job Training graduates are equipped
with the skills they need to
become successful environmental
professionals.
"/ realized I wanted
more for myself and for my daughter...
I wanted an opportunity for stable work
and a chance to advance. I made it this
far because of my determination, the
support of my family, friends, and
classmates, and the encouragement
of JFY staff."
- Nat, JFYNetWorks
Job Training Program graduate
continued
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the day after he finished the Asbestos Worker class, making $ 11.00 per hour. Buddy has moved out of the
City Rescue Mission and visits his son every week. Ms. Dienz commented, "That's the way this program
was designed to work. I am so happy that Buddy is working and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel."
More than 80 percent of the 164 graduates trained through the
JFYNetWorks Job Training Program in Boston, Massachusetts, found
employment in the state of Massachusetts. An example is Nat C, who
was out of school and running in the streets of Boston by age 15. By
age 21 he had served six months in jail, lost his latest job, and was
about to become a father. Realizing his dire situation, Nat sought help
through JFYNetWorks Program. After completing the EPA Brownfields
grant-funded, 14-week Environmental Technology training course, Nat
graduated with a certificate that covers environmental science, chemistry,
math, and business writing, as well as five professional environmental
health and safety certifications; he was subsequently hired by All &
Inclusive Environmental Services as an environmental field technician.
Students enjoy their experience with the JFYNetWorks
Job Training Program in Boston, Massachusetts.
Brownfields Job Training courses complement EPA's overall Brownfields Program goals by facilitating
efficient cleanup of brownfields while promoting employment of environmental job trainees. Job
Training grants are typically awarded to entities within urban, low-income, and high-minority areas.
The Job Training Programs funded by these grants not only recruit residents of communities affected by
brownfields, but also those in public assistance programs (including Welfare-to-Work),
under- or unemployed residents, single mothers, and veterans. Various recruitment
strategies are used, including working with community and city organizations,
college and high school alumni, existing job training and placement
programs, local Welfare-to-Work programs, and the media; conducting
house-to-house visits, meetings, forums, and open enrollment sessions;
and relying on word-of-mouth.
CONTACTS:
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/
Through skills development and career training, participants are able
to find jobs with good wages and often with benefits, greatly improving
their quality of life. Three graduates of the EPA Brownfields grant
funded, New Jersey Youth Corps—Phillipsburg/Newark Job Training
Program, partly due to their 40-hour HAZWOPER training, each received
an employment package from CIANBRO, Inc. Construction that included
a $27.00 per hour salary, full medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage,
a 40 IK, and a tuition reimbursement plan. Another New Jersey Youth Corp
(NJYC) Job Training graduate, Dominick Marciano, was placed with Clean Harbors,
Inc., an environmental services company in Brooklyn, New York. After just two months at Clean Harbors,
Dominick was recruited by another project contractor impressed by his work performance. He was
subsequently hired by the LEW Corporation in Mountainside, New Jersey, with an increase in pay, and
a company-issued laptop computer and cell phone. Dominick has since received additional training and
certifications such as: X-ray fluoresces (XRF) Training, Dust Wipe Sampling, and Asbestos Certification.
He has also returned to NJYC Brownfields Training classes as a guest speaker.
EPA's Brownfields Job Training grants provide outstanding opportunities for graduates to find good
paying jobs in the environmental cleanup field. Brownfields Job Training grants also provide an
environment where individuals are not afraid to fail—where individuals can triumph no matter the
apparent hopelessness of their circumstances. These grants offer individuals a second chance at having
a better life.
Brownfields Success Story
Second Chances Through
Brownfields Job Training Grants
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-10-208
July 2010
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
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