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Ceremonies Scheduled March 15 for Brownfields Recovery Act Job Training Graduates in Kansas City, Kan.

Release Date: 03/11/2010
Contact Information: Belinda Young, (913) 551-7463, young.belinda@epa.gov


Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 11, 2010) - OAI, Inc., a workforce development organization, will host a graduation ceremony for Brownfields job training graduates on Monday, March 15, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Kansas City Regional Office in Kansas City, Kan.

This is the first class from OAI to graduate under funding provided by EPA through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). OAI was one of only two organizations in the four states of EPA’s Region 7 to receive $500,000 in Recovery Act funds to provide technical training to unemployed and underemployed residents in vocations related to lead abatement, site remediation and weatherization.

Regional Administrator Karl Brooks said, “The EPA Brownfields Job Training Program transforms lives by empowering unemployed and underemployed residents of Brownfields-impacted communities to receive training which results in meaningful employment.”

Of the 26 graduates in OAI’s first training class, one is already working and four others have already received placements in positions related to the training. OAI is assisting the remaining graduates with resume preparation and potential placements. OAI targeted individuals in Kansas City, Missouri’s Green Impact Zone, and in Independence, Mo., to receive the training.

Graduates of the program are certified in lead supervision, asbestos supervision, 10-hour OSHA construction safety, 40-Hour Hazardous Waste training, first aid, CPR, blueprint reading, and mold remediation. All graduates have applied for Missouri state licensing.

WHAT: Brownfields Job Training Graduation Ceremony

WHEN: Monday, March 15, 2010, 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: EPA Regional Office, Room 2240, 901 N. 5th Street, Kansas City, Kan. 66101

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at www.recovery.gov.