Waste Site Cleanup & Reuse in New England
Success in EPA Brownfields Job Training Grant Program
The Workplace, Inc.Bridgeport, CT
The WorkPlace, Inc. of Bridgeport, CT, received $200,000 for a Brownfields Job Training Grant from EPA New England in April 2001 to train residents from local, economically disadvantaged communities which are impacted by brownfields and have received EPA funding for brownfield assessment or clean-up. The WorkPlace, Inc. collaborated with several other non-profit organizations, educational institutions, environmental companies and the city of Bridgeport to recruit and train residents and assist them in retaining permanent jobs in the environmental technology field. The Brownfields Job Training Program was developed by The WorkPlace, Inc. because local disadvantaged residents were not being recruited or trained to fill the need for trained workers to address the clean-up and redevelopment of many brownfields located in the city of Bridgeport.
The WorkPlace, Inc, Southwestern Connecticut’s Regional Workforce Investment Board, is a private, non-profit corporation that was established in 1983. The WorkPlace, Inc. serves more than 5,000 individuals each year and administers over $10 million in job training and preparation funds allocated by state and federal agencies. The grantee also coordinates providers of job training and education programs that meet the needs of residents and employers in the 20 communities that comprise the Southwestern Connecticut Workforce Investment Area. The Workplace, Inc. was named the “2001 Workforce Investment Board of the Year” by the National Alliance of Business and received the “2002 Workforce Development Award for Excellence” from the National Association of Counties.
The WorkPlace, Inc. organization formed key partnerships to accomplish its goals. Career Resources, Inc. oversaw the employment process of the 49 residents. Environmental Management Geographical Consultants provided environmental training for the 49 trainees. Many environmental companies recruited trainees for internships and job placements. The WorkPlace, Inc. worked with its partners to recruit residents by visiting local high schools, churches, and other places where people congregate and informed residents about the training program. The grantee also recruited trainees by sending out flyers to residents in the brownfield-affected area. In three sessions, 49 residents were trained in the following skills: environmental health safety and industrial hygiene, innovative remediation technologies, lead and asbestos abatement, life skills, and anthrax contamination clean-up (added after September 11, 2001.) Graduates from the training course received certificates in Lead and Asbestos Abatement, OSHA 40 Hour HAZWOPER, and a technical environmental certificate.
At the completion of the training courses, 44 out of the 49 trainees graduated from the program. Of the 44 trainees who graduated from the training course, 84% obtained internships or job placements. The WorkPlace, Inc. and its partners worked diligently with environmental companies to identify internship and job opportunities. The grantee assisted the trainees throughout the process of obtaining jobs in the environmental technology field, including assistance in writing resumes and developing the trainees’ interviewing skills and workplace skills. Trainees obtained internship positions and job placements from many companies, including A-1 Asbestos Abatement, Inc. (Waterbury, CT), Acadia Demolition (Fairfield, CT), Complete Environmental Testing, Inc. (Stratford, CT), Environmental Management Geological Consultants, Glacier Drilling (Bolton, CT), LVI (New London, CT), Kerite Company (Seymour, CT), Ocean Trace Demolition (Oakville, CT), and United Industrial Services (Meriden, CT).
The WorkPlace, Inc. Executive Committee of the Board of Directors has been impressed with the results of this program and have authorized The WorkPlace, Inc. to continue the Brownfields Job Training Program using non-EPA dollars. The WorkPlace, Inc.’s goal is to have the Brownfields Job Training Program implemented in other area municipalities that are also trying to revitalize their brownfields areas.