August, 2009
Richmond Receives EPA Brownfields Job Training Grant Award
Friday, August 14th, 2009
The City of Richmond has been selected by the Environmental Protection Agency to receive a $500,000 Brownfields Job Training Grant, one of just 26 grants awarded nationally. The program is intended to help communities to assess, safely clean up and sustainably redevelop property that has been contaminated by pollutants or hazardous substances. Richmond will use EPA funding to train 128 students, place 102 graduates in environmental jobs, and track graduates for one year following completion of the program.
The training program includes a total of 250 hours of training in a variety of environmental, green technology, and construction skills. Graduates will receive six certifications, including HAZWOPER; lead, asbestos, and mold abatement; and solar technology and installation. The primary trainers will be staff from the Richmond Employment and Training Department, as well as instructors from private environmental training firms who will be identified through a competitive procurement process. The city will work with private companies with local facilities such as MS Environmental Solutions, Veolia Water, and the Chevron Corporation to place graduates in environmental jobs.
This grant represents the third employment training award that the Glen Price Group has helped the city obtain in slightly more than a year. In July, 2008, the city was the recipient of a $500,000 Construction Talent Transfer grant for retraining displaced residential construction workers. In June, 2009, Richmond was informed that it had been awarded $1.1 million over two years for its YouthBuild program, to provide remedial education and construction training to at-risk youth and young adults. During that period, Richmond has received recognition for its model employment training programs through visits by Senator Barbara Boxer, Representative George Miller, and California Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, Victoria Bradshaw.
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