Training grant awarded
Thanks to a new federal grant, 75 low-income workers will receive valuable environmental cleanup training and future employment opportunities.
A Brownfields Job Training Grant of $200,000 just awarded to the King County Jobs Initiative by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will make it possible to train individuals to clear parcels of land damaged by hazardous substances or contaminants. .
“The Brownfields grant is so important to this region,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “It creates living wage jobs at a time when unemployment is so high, and also helps us to clean up and reclaim damaged parcels of land and restore them to productive use.”
The King County Jobs Initiative (KCJI) is a work force development program created to serve low-income residents in King County, with a special focus on helping people with a prior history of involvement in the criminal justice system. The KCJI is part of the King County Work Training Program located in the Department of Community and Human Services.
Participants will receive 238 hours in environmental clean up and construction readiness credential training, working on industrially contaminated parcels of land in King County.
This is the fifth successful application for EPA Brownfields training grant awards since 1999. More than 200 low-income King County residents have previously been trained as environmental technicians. Of those, over 140 have been placed in jobs with wages ranging from $12 to $35 per hour.
For more information about the King County Jobs Initiative, contact Carolyn Bledsoe at 206-296-3432 or go to www.kingcounty.gov/worktraining.
Posted on April 16, 2010 by cheathb
0