Brownfields 2013 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet ™ Florida State College at Jacksonville, FL EPA Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant Program In 2010, the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) led an effort to more closely collaborate with other programs within EPA on workforce development and job training. Program offices now participating in the expanded initiative include the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR), Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI), Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST), Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse Office (FFRRO), Center for Program Analysis (CPA), Innovation, Partnerships, and Communication Office (IPCO), Office of Wastewater Management (OWM), Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM). This initiative was created to develop a job training cooperative agreement opportunity that includes expanded training in other environmental media outside the traditional scope of brownfields hazardous waste remediation. As a result of this effort, the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants Program now allows applicants to deliver other training in the environmental field, in addition to the core traditional brownfields hazardous waste and petroleum training historically provided. Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant funds are provided to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train, and place predominantly low-income and minority, unemployed and underemployed residents from solid and hazardous waste-impacted communities. Residents learn the skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable employment in the environmental field, including a focus on assessment and cleanup activities. Since 1998, EPA has funded 206 job training grants totaling over $45 million through the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants Program. As of March 2013, approximately 11,473 individuals have completed training, of which approximately 8,198 have obtained employment in the environmental field with an average starting hourly wage of $14.12. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of approximately 71% since the program was created. Job Training Grant $200,000 EPA selected Florida State College at Jacksonville for an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant. Florida State College at Jacksonville plans to train 60 students, place 45 graduates in environmental jobs, and track graduates for one year. The core training program includes 300 hours of instruction, including coursework in 40-hour HAZWOPER; leaking underground storage tank corrective action (e.g., site assessment and remediation) awareness, including procedures for tank removal when necessary to perform corrective action; solid waste deconstruction and recycling; green remediation technologies; environmental math and chemical awareness training; Florida stormwater, erosion, and sedimentation control inspector; collections and wastewater training; two emergency response classes; and eleven enhanced environmental health and safety training classes. A total of 22 state and federal certifications will be offered. Florida State College at Jacksonville is targeting unemployed or severely underemployed veterans, displaced workers, ex-offenders, single mothers, recovering substance abusers, and homeless, low-income, and minority residents of Jacksonville. Key partners include the Jacksonville Housing Authority; WorkSource; the City of Jacksonville Division of Military Affairs, Veteran's, and Disabled Services; and the Florida State College Foundation. Contacts For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields). EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team 404-562-8660 EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region4/rcr a/bflr/brownfields.html) United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA560-F-13-198 June 2013 ------- Grant Recipient: Florida State College at Jacksonville 904-632-5933 The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA560-F-13-198 June 2013 ------- |