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iM? ] Brownfields 2014 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet
*V X^ Memphis Bioworks Foundation, TN
EPA Brownfields Program
In 2010, the EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land
Revitalization (OBLR) led an effort to more closely
collaborate with other programs within the Agency 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), 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
assessment and cleanup. As a result of this effort, the
Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training
program now allows applicants to deliver a broader array
of training in the environmental field, in addition to the
traditional brownfields hazardous waste and petroleum
training historically provided. Through the expanded
Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training
program, graduates develop wider skill sets that improve
their ability to secure full-time, sustainable employment
in various aspects of hazardous and solid waste
management and within the larger environmental field,
including water quality improvement and chemical safety.
This effort also gives communities more flexibility to
provide different types of environmental training based on
local employers' hiring needs.
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. To date, EPA has funded
237 job training grants totaling over $48 million through
the former Brownfields Job Training program and
Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training
program. As of April 2014, approximately 12,800
individuals have completed training, and of those,
approximately 9,100 have obtained employment in the
Job Training Grant
$200,000.00
EPA has selected Memphis Bioworks for an
Environmental Workforce Development and Job
Training grant. Memphis Bioworks plans to train
64 students, place 48 graduates in environmental
jobs, and track graduates for at least one year. In
addition, five graduates are expected to pursue
further education. The core training includes 84
hours of instruction in 40-hour HAZWOPER and
several awareness-level courses, including solid
waste management and recycling; underground
storage tank remediation; green remediation;
wastewater treatment; U.S. DOTHAZMAT
transportation; and lead, mold, and asbestos
abatement. Students will then choose one of two
advanced technical tracks: energy
efficiency/retrofit (40 hours) or healthy
homes/construction (40 hours). Students also will
participate in a community service project and an
internship. Seven federal certifications will be
offered. Memphis Bioworks is targeting
unemployed and underemployed residents of
Memphis, with a focus on those living within the
federally designated Memphis Urban Renewal
Community. Key partners include the Memphis
Workforce Investment Network, the City of
Memphis, University of Tennessee Extension,
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation,
and a number of community-based organizations
and environmental employers.
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
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-14-016
May 2014
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environmental field, witn an average starting nourly wage
of $14.00. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of
approximately 71% since the program was created in 1998.
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region4/rcr
a/bflr/brownfields.html)
Grant Recipient: Memphis Bioworks
Foundation,TN
9018661652
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-14-016
May 2014
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