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EPA Selects 17 Organizations to Receive $3 Million for Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Programs Across the Country

05/07/2018
Contact Information: 
EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected 17 organizations to receive a total of $3.3 million in grants for environmental job training programs. Funded through the agency’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) Program, these grants will support programs to help local residents learn the skills needed to secure employment in the environmental field. These grants help prepare people for green jobs that reduce environmental contamination and provide more sustainable futures for the communities most affected by solid and hazardous waste contamination.

“Through these Brownfields job training programs, we’re investing in getting Americans back to work and improving local economies and the environment," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “Graduates will acquire the skill set necessary to gain full-time employment in the environmental field and help revitalize their communities.”  

Today’s selectees are:

  • Alaska Forum, Inc., Anchorage, AK
  • City of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, CA
  • City of Springfield, Springfield, MO
  • City of Tacoma, Tacoma, WA
  • Civic Works, Inc., Baltimore, MD
  • Essex County Division of Training and Employment, East Orange, NJ 
  • Full Employment Council, Inc., Kansas City, MO
  • Groundwork Rhode Island, Pawtucket, RI
  • Hunters Point Family, San Francisco, CA
  • King County, Seattle, WA
  • Limitless Vistas, Inc., New Orleans, LA
  • Los Angeles Conservation Corps, Los Angeles, CA
  • St. Nicks Alliance, Brooklyn, NY
  • Sustainable South Bronx, Bronx, NY
  • Training to Work an Industry Niche, Charlotte, NC
  • West End Neighborhood House, Inc., Wilmington, DE
  • RecycleForce, Indianapolis, IN

Since the EWDJT program began in 1998, more than 288 grants have been awarded. Over 17,100 individuals have completed training, and of those, more than 12,500 individuals have been placed in full-time employment earning an average starting wage of over $14 an hour. This equates to a cumulative job placement rate of 73 percent of graduates.

Background 

The EWDJT program helps to build a skilled workforce across the country. The program awards competitive grants to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train and place unemployed and underemployed individuals. Individuals completing these training programs have often overcome a variety of barriers to employment. Many are from low-income neighborhoods. The training programs also serve dislocated workers who have lost their jobs as a result of manufacturing plant closures, minorities, tribal members, transitioning veterans, and other individuals who may have faced barriers to employment.

For more information on EWDJT grantees, including past EWDJT grantees, please visit: https://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/index.cfm?grant_type_id=1003&grant_announcement_year=2018

For more information on EPA’s EWDJT program, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding