&EPA
www.epa.gov
MAKING A BQl?ff£l&BtS!l®£\\\ THE COMMUNITY:
Cycle II of the Superfund Job Training Initiative in South Carolina
INTRODUCTION
The Savannah River Site Superfund Job Training Initiative
(SuperJTI) Cycle II is an environmental remediation job training
program that provided career development opportunities for
42 trainees living near the Savannah River Nuclear Facility in
south-central South Carolina. Cycle II is the second SuperJTI
conducted at the Savannah River Site (SRS); in 2009, Cycle I
provided career development opportunities for 20 trainees.
In 2010, through a partnership with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE), site contractor Savannah River Remediation, Denmark
Technical College, The Imani Group and Allendale Department
of Social Services, SRS SuperJTI Cycle II provided local job-
seekers with new skills and work experience. EPA's goal is to
help the community create job opportunities and partnerships
that remain in place for the long term.
CANDIDATE OUTREACH, RECRUITMENT
AND SCREENING: MARCH 2010
SRS SuperJTI Cycle II staff and community partner The
Imani Group distributed fliers and hosted orientation sessions
to publicize the job training program and attract potential
participants. Three hundred interested candidates attended
the program's five orientation sessions in four surrounding
communities: Allendale, Aiken and Barnwell counties in South
Carolina and the City of Augusta in Georgia. Following these
sessions, 281 people completed a preliminary testing stage and
204 of those participants were invited to attend the program's
tryouts. Of those invitees, 173 participants decided to continue
with the program tryouts.
Program tryouts were conducted over two days and included
leadership, team building and role-playing activities, basic
physical fitness evaluation, and observation by a team of 25
evaluators representing the project's partners. Following the
tryouts, 42 trainees were selected.
Greenville
South Carolina
Columbia
All "
Georgia
Charleston
Savannah
RiverSite
Savannah
Atlantic Ocear
I U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
I Technical Assistance Services for Communities
SITE HISTORY
SRS is a 310-square mile former nuclear materials
fabrication facility located adjacent to the Savannah
River in Aiken and Barnwell counties, South Carolina.
SRS operated from 1950 to 1988, producing primarily
tritium and plutonium-239 in reactors built on site.
These materials were used for the creation of nuclear
weapons as well as for the space program and medical
and industrial research. Past disposal practices of
chemical and radioactive wastes led to soil and ground
water contamination near SRS. Cleanup activities at
the site have been ongoing since 1989. To date, more
than 324 of the site's 515 waste areas have been closed.
Other cleanup activities have included the treatment of
billions of gallons of ground water. The site's cleanup is
scheduled for completion in 2025.
While portions of SRS are in the cleanup phase, SRS
is also still a functioning DOE facility. Over 14,000
people are currently employed at SRS by DOE and its
contractors, making it one of the primary employers in
the area. In 2003, SRS was selected as the location for
three new plutonium facilities, for mixed oxide (MOX)
fuel fabrication, pit disassembly and conversion, and
plutonium immobilization. SRS is also home to the
Savannah River National Laboratory.
-------
TRAINING: MAY-JUNE 2010
The SRS SuperJTI Cycle II training consisted of two parts
and took place over the course of eight weeks.
• Pre-Employment and Lifeskills Training: Trainees
completed two weeks of courses that included cultural
competency, money management, environmental justice
and effective work habits. The training was provided by
project staff and community partner The Imani Group.
• Technical Training: Trainees completed six weeks of
classroom training that included physics, math, heat
transfer, chemistry and fluid flow. The training was
provided by project partner Denmark Technical College.
Upon completion of the program, trainees possess the
marketable skills needed to begin a successful career in
environmental remediation and become valuable members
of the community's workforce.
JOB PLACEMENT AND FOLLOW-UP:
JULY 2010-JULY 2011
After graduation, trainees interviewed with project partner
and site contractor Savannah River Remediation for available
positions at SRS. Thirty-three graduates were placed
immediately into permanent positions with full benefits as
radiological control inspectors, radiological control auxiliary
and nuclear production operators. Six graduates were placed
into temporary positions as material handlers.
SRS SuperJTI Cycle II is one of the many SuperJTI job training
projects nationwide that are making a difference for underserved
citizens living in communities affected by Superfund sites.
SRS SuperJTI Cycle II staff will conduct program follow-
up with the graduates as well as their supervisors for one
year following job placement. During this time period,
graduates may change positions but are required to maintain
employment, either with Savannah River Remediation or
another employer.
THE SRS SUPERJTI CYCLE II TRAINEES:
• Include a significant number of women as well
as men. The trainees include 16 women and 26
men.
• Live in geographically diverse areas. The 42
trainees hail from the two states and seven
counties surrounding SRS.
• Include younger and older populations. Twenty-
three trainees are in their 20s and younger.
Nineteen trainees are in their 30s or older.
-------
SRS SUPERJTI CYCLE II COMMUNITY PROFILES: Making a Difference
Teshania Bey found the permanent career path she was looking for in SRS SuperJTI.
,
kfrom her mentor in human resources. It was her fourth contract in two years, and she
was ready for a change. 'The program was a way for me to pursue a permanent
position at the site," she said. After continuing with the rigorous selection process,
Teshania was selected from a pool of 175 candidates as one of the program's 42
trainees.
A mother of three, part-time student and cheerleading coach, Teshania traveled up
to forty-five minutes to the training sites each day for the eight-week program. She
graduated from the program in July 2010, and was hired as a General Production
Operator by project partner Savannah River Remediation. In subsequent on-the-
job training, Teshania feels that her SuperJTI classes in chemistry, math and physics
s%i&rr a* Denmark Technical College have been essential. "We had really great teachers. If it
wasn't for them, I would have been lost with the training I'm taking now," she reflected. Now
in a permanent position at SRS, Teshania has rewritten her career plan for the next 20 years. "I don't
have to worry about a job anymore because this is where I want to be," she said.
In February 2010, Joseph Gaines was a recent college graduate struggling to find a job. He was
living in Columbia, South Carolina, when his sister told him about the SRS SuperJTI information
session being hosted in his hometown of Barnwell, South Carolina. He decided to attend the
session and continue with the recruitment process. The next step was the program tryouts.
When he arrived, Joseph was nervous but energized. "Overall, it was a rush because you
only had a few minutes to impress the people who held your future in their hands," he
recalled. Those few minutes were enough, and Joseph was selected as a trainee. "I'm
thankful that I was chosen," he said.
During the eight weeks of training, Joseph made several friends in the program and
the group grew into a cohesive unit affectionately called "The Village" by the trainees.
Joseph said that the group's supportive dynamics allowed for self-reflection as well. "It [the
program] was a great way to learn about yourself," he said. Joseph successfully complet
the program and was hired as a General Production Operator by Savannah River Remediation
Looking forward, Joseph has plans to continue his education in the near future. Assisted by SR
tuition reimbursement program, he is interested in pursuing a Master's Degree in Information Systei
with a concentration in Computer Security Management.
Evan Pontoo took a leap of faith with SRS SuperJTI. An SRS veteran with over 20 years
experience on site, Evan had been laid off from his job in graphic illustration in 2004. Since
k then, he had been working as a kitchen designer while applying for jobs at SRS. After
^k learning about the program from his sister-in-law, Evan took a risk and quit his job to
^k pursue the recruitment process. Following program tryouts, he was selected as a trainee.
• One month later, he was employed at SRS.
| Evan was chosen by project partner Savannah River Remediation as one of a group
' of SuperJTI trainees who would exit the program early. After two weeks of Lifeskills
^m training, Evan was hired and began over 600 hours of classroom training for his current
j position as a Radiological Control Inspector. This training will be followed by a year of
shadowing a veteran inspector. Evan explained that the extensive training is necessary
because the job is all about maintaining site safety. "We're the safety monitors for everyone
on site. We help make sure that nothing happens that could be hazardous to people's health,"
he said. "We have to be prepared for what could go wrong." Overall, Evan has had a positive
experience in the program, and is happy to be back working at SRS. "I don't see how I could have
returned [to working at SRS] without the program," he said.
-------
What is the SuperJTI Program?
The Superfund Job Training Initiative, or SuperJTI, supports job training programs in
communities affected by nearby Superfund sites and encourages the employment of
trainees at local site cleanups. The SuperJTI program combines extensive classroom
instruction with hands-on work experience for each participant. Upon completion of
the program, each participant possesses the marketable skills required to become a
valuable member of the community's workforce. EPA offers SuperJTI training through
its Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) contract at no cost to training
participants.
For more information, please visit:
www.epa.gov/superfund/community/sfjti
L
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (5204P)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
EPA 9230.1-32FS I February 2011 I www.epa.gov/superfund/community/tasc
------- |