'n Durham, North Carolina, Environmental
Training Prepares Residents for the Jobs
Created by Area Revitalization
L
Durham, North Carolina
'ocated in central North Carolina, the City of Durham, like
most cities, has a number of brownfields that have had adverse
economic impacts on their surrounding communities. In particular,
Northeast Central Durham's Pettigrew Street Corridor was once
a thriving residential and business area before residents moved
to the suburbs and industrial facilities closed. Today, the corridor
contains multiple brownfields including scrap yards, garages,
and vacant and abandoned industrial facilities; and more than 36
percent of residents live in poverty.
Having received a Brownfields Assessment grant in 2006, the City
of Durham designed a revitalization strategy for this 96-block
area, including cleanup and reuse of the corridor's brownfields.
To ensure that the demand could be met for area workers with
training in solid waste management, field testing and equipment,
and other environmental technician skills, Durham applied for and
received a Brownfields Job Training grant in 2008.
The city worked with its Brownfields Advisory Panel—a
network of community, public, and private partners—to assist
with recruitment and screening activities. These included local
informational meetings; mass emails targeted toward local
entities that could inform potential candidates; and use of the
"JobLink" Career Center network (including the local WorkFirst
Program, Veterans' Employment & Training, Ex-Offender
Program, Adult/Laid Off Worker Program, and the Youth
Employed and Succeeding Program) to reach individuals in need
of brownfields training and employment opportunities. Durham
was also able to use a "Best Practices Recruitment Technique
Framework" developed by another EPA Brownfields Job Training
grant recipient in North Carolina, the City of Winston-Salem.
Ultimately, this framework helped Durham surpass its screening
and retainment goals and graduate work-ready, easily employable
individuals.
Durham Technical Community College was chosen to deliver the
environmental training course, titled "Brownfields Environmental
Response Training." The curriculum for this comprehensive,
Students in Durham, NC undergo classroom training.
JUST THE FACTS:
• Durham's Brownfields Job Training
Program was designed to ensure
that local residents can benefit
from the jobs created through area
revitalization.
• The city was able to apply a proven
recruitment strategy developed by
a neighboring EPA Brownfields Job
Training grant recipient, the City of
Winston-Salem, NC.
• The Program has trained three
rounds of students—66 in all—with
a graduation rate of more than 86
percent.
In addition to their
environmental and
HAZMAT courses, students
received job skills training
to prepare them for their
professional careers.
continued
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More than
half of the Program's
graduates have already
found jobs, with
wages ranging from
$10-$15perhour.
200-hour course included HAZWOPER training and certification, OSHA Health
and Safety training, lead and asbestos abatement techniques, soil and water
management, first aid/CPR, and in-the-field equipment training. In addition,
students received job skills training that featured a "Day in the Life of an
Environmental Employee" course to prepare them for their professional
lives.
CONTACTS:
For more information on the
Durham Brownfields Job Training grant,
contact EPA Region 4 at (404) 562-8660
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Training began in the Spring of 2009, and the first class graduated in
April of that year. Since the course's inception,
the College has trained three rounds of
students—66 in all—with a graduation rate
of more than 86 percent. While placement is
ongoing, more than half of the Program's graduates have already
found jobs, with wages ranging from $10-$ 15 per hour. One of
those graduates, Antonio Snell, credits the Program with not
only preparing him for a career, but providing him newfound
motivation to better himself. "The Program helped me better my
skills, and helped me improve on a lot of weak points that I had,"
he explained. "I learned that if you really set your mind to something,
you can get it done."
Another success of the Program is Antoine Freeman, a father who found
himself unexpectedly laid off in 2007. Recognizing Durham's Brownfields Job
Training as a way to make a difference in his community and become marketable to local employers,
Antoine applied and was accepted. He was hired immediately after graduation as a Hazardous Waste
Coordinator for the City of Durham, where he coordinated a paint consolidation and reuse program
and prepared hazardous materials for safe transportation. He has since transitioned to the private
sector and is now a site supervisor at a hazardous waste facility.
In recognition of the Program's successes, EPA awarded the City of Durham an additional
Brownfields Job Training grant in April 2010.
Brownfields Success Story
In Durham, North Carolina, Environmental Training
Prepares Residents for the Jobs Created by Area Revitalization
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA-560-F-10-204
May 2010
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
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