Brownfields 2015  Job Training Grant Fact Sheet
               OAI, Inc., Chicago, IL
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), the Office of Emergency Management
(OEM), and the Urban Waters Program. 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 residents from solid
and hazardous waste-impacted communities, including
low-income and minority, unemployed, and underemployed
individuals. To date, EPA has  funded 256 job training grants
totaling over $54 million through the former Brownfields Job
Training program and Environmental Workforce Development
and Job Training program. As of April 2015, more than  13,800
individuals have completed training, and of those, more  than
10,000 have obtained employment in the environmental field,
with an average starting hourly wage of $14.18. This equates to
a cumulative placement rate of approximately 72% since the
program was created in 1998.
                Job Training Grant

                $192,300.00

                EPA has selected OAI Inc. for an Environmental Workforce
                Development and Job Training grant. OAI plans to train 45 students and
                place at least 40 graduates in environmental jobs. The core training
                includes four modules: environmental health and safety (82 hrs),
                stormwater management (400 hrs), ecological restoration and natural
                resources (485 hrs), and career guidance and environmental justice (90
                hrs). The EPA grant will cover several technical courses, including
                40-hour HAZWOPER, 10-hour OSHA construction safety, horticulture,
                low-impact development, green infrastructure installation, and ecological
                restoration. The remaining coursework will be leveraged by partners.
                Participants will earn five federal or state certifications and one regional
                certification. OAI is targeting disadvantaged, unemployed, and
                underemployed residents primarily from the South and West Sides of
                Chicago, including Empowerment Zones and Renewal Communities. A
                special emphasis will be placed on recruiting women, veterans,
                dislocated workers, ex-offenders, and at-risk young adults. Key partners
                include the City of Chicago Department of Transportation and Mayor's
                Office, WRD Environmental, Forest Preserves of Cook County, Literacy
                Chicago, National Able Network, Chicago Women in Trades, the Cook
                County Department of Environmental Control, and several
                environmental and community-based organizations.

                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 5 Brownfields Team
                (312)886-4747
                EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
                (http://www.epa.gov/region5brownfields/)

                Grant Recipient: OAI, Inc., Chicago, IL
                (312)528-3512

                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)
EPA 560-F-15-034
        May 2015

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