Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the selection of Baker Technical Institute in Oregon to receive a $500,000 Brownfields Job Training grant for environmental job training programs funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding is among 29 new grants awarded nationally through EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program to recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and environmental cleanup projects at brownfield sites.
“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is supercharging EPA’s Brownfields Program, which is transforming blighted sites, protecting public health, and creating economic opportunities in more overburdened communities than ever before,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “The investments announced today will not only support the cleanup of some of our nation’s most polluted areas, but they will also equip a new generation of workers to take on the significant environmental challenges that plague overburdened neighborhoods, and jumpstart sustainable, long-term careers in the communities that need these jobs the most.”
“Congratulations to the Baker Technical Institute on being selected for EPA’s Brownfields Job Training grant funding,” said EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller. “EPA is excited to support their efforts to equip the next generation of environmental stewards with in-demand skills for high-paying, long-term jobs that help make their communities safer, cleaner, and healthier places to live and work.”
Baker Technical Institute plans to train 60 students and place at least 57 in local environmental jobs. Program graduates will receive up to 364 hours of instruction in HAZWOPER, environmental site assessments, asbestos and lead paint safety, environmental career planning, up to seven federal certifications and a Capstone Field Trip. Training is focused on students in Polk, Marion, Linn, Benton, Crook, Jefferson, and Deschutes Counties, specifically tribal members, and low-income and unemployed individuals. Partners include Business Oregon, City of Prineville, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Knife River Construction, Oregon Department of Human Services, and SMAF Environmental.
"BTI is honored to have been selected to provide this much-needed workforce development training," said Baker Technical Institute President Doug Dalton. "Two of the best investments that can be made to drive economic development in most communities is improving infrastructure and the people that live there, and this training will do both. Graduates of this program will enter the market when the demand and pay for skilled workers are at an all-time high. A reliable workforce pipeline for employers can help rural communities thrive. Our goal is to provide post-secondary training that makes a difference in the lives of our students, their families, and the communities where they live."
Background
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will invest more than $1.5 billion over five years through EPA’s highly successful Brownfields Program. The Brownfields Job Training Program also advances EPA’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40 percent of the benefits of environmental programs to disadvantaged communities. Individuals completing a job training program funded by the EPA often overcome a variety of barriers to employment and many are from historically underserved neighborhoods or reside in areas that are overburdened by pollution.
Graduates of Brownfields Job Training programs typically earn a variety of certifications to learn valuable and sought-after skillsets, ensuring employment opportunities are not just temporary contractual work, but long-term environmental careers. This includes certifications in lead and asbestos abatement, hazardous waste operations and emergency response, environmental sampling and analysis, and environmental health and safety training.
Brownfields Job Training grants allow nonprofits, local governments, and other organizations to recruit, train, and place unemployed and under-employed residents of areas affected by the presence of brownfield sites. Job training program graduates develop the skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable employment in various aspects of hazardous and solid waste management and within the larger environmental field, including sustainable cleanup and reuse, and chemical safety.
Since 1998, the EPA has awarded 371 Brownfields Job Training grants. With these grants, more than 20,341 individuals have completed trainings and over 15,168 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety.
For more information on Brownfields grants, visit: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-job-training-jt-grants.
Learn more about the Baker Technical Institute at: https://bakerti.org/about-bti/.
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