U.S. EPA Brownfields Job Training Program
                Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board
                                          Waterbury, CT
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Overview: The Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board (NRWIB) is a nonprofit organization that provides
occupational services to unemployed, underemployed, and dislocated workers residing in northwestern Connecticut.
The NRWIB was a recipient of a 2009 U.S. EPA Brownfields Job Training Grant, which provided $200,000 for the
development and implementation of a job training program to help those seeking employment.
 Core Curriculum
  Asbestos Abatement Supervisor - Initial
  Lead Abatement Supervisor - Initial
  OSHA- 40 hour HAZWOPER
  Deconstruction
  OSHA- 10 hour Construction Safety Training:
  o Power Hand Tool Safety, Fall Protection, Hazard
    Communication, Lock Out/Tag Out, Personal Protective
    Equipment, Scaffolding/Ladders, Confined Space,
    Bloodborne Pathogens
  EPA Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair and Painting
  DOE Lead Safe Weatherization
  Hazardous Materials Transportation (DOT)
  Respiratory Protection
  Hearing Conservation
  Sampling Techniques
  Above Ground and Underground Storage Tanks
 Program Partners
                                                      Although the NRWIB job training program focuses
                                                      mainly on the City of Waterbury, the organization
                                                      strives to provide employment services for the forty-one
                                                      local municipalities in their service area. Typically, the
                                                      participants that have been involved in the program are
                                                      residents from Waterbury, Torrington, Danbury, and
                                                      areas in Naugatuck Valley. As of January 2011, there
                                                      have been 3 cycles of the job training program
                                                      completed at Naugatuck Valley Community College.
                                                      Each cycle was five weeks in length and had
                                                      approximately 20 individuals enrolled.

                                                      Participants: Qualified candidates are brought into the
                                                      program through the "construction funnel" approach in
                                                      which participants are initially screened and selected
                                                      based on specific criteria developed by NRWIB. The
                                                      candidates are then given tools for basic soft skills that
                                                      will help them to succeed well beyond the boundaries  of
                                                      the program, including resume writing and interview
                                                      skills; this is  done to ensure that the participants are
                                                      equipped with work readiness tools before the job
                                                      training begins. Once the participants are enrolled, the
class transitions from soft skills training into the core curriculum of the program. Participants are expected to
maintain a schedule of Monday through Friday, 8 am -5 pm, to fulfill  the 200-hour course  load.

Outcomes: The NRWIB job training program is designed to help
graduates complete the program and find local employment
opportunities. Currently, there is a 75% job placement rate for
NRWIB graduates. Examples of job training graduates that have
successfully completed the program and transitioned into a career in
the environmental field include:
•  Nathan E. was a participant in the first cycle of job training in
2009. He graduated and received placement with Cabrera Services
as a Radiological Control Technician.
•  Steve E.  graduated from the first cycle of the program and
received placement as an Energy Auditor for Wesson Oil in
Waterbury, CT with a starting wage of $60,000.00/yr.                          photo provided by NRWIB.
•  Kyle B. and Anthony H. graduated from the second  cycle of job training and received placement in the Laborer's
Union - Local 611 (starting wage $14.75/hr).
 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental
 Management Geological Consultants, Inc., Naugatuck
 Valley Community College, Waterbury Development
 Corporation, and New Opportunities, Inc.
March 2011
                        Local Contact: Catherine Awwad, NRWIB* (203)574-6971 x426* Catherine.Awwad@nrwib.org
                        Region 1 EPA Contact: Kathy Castagna* (617) 918-1429* Castagna.Kathleen@epa.gov

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