EPA Awards Job Training Grant to Florida State College at Jacksonville
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that Florida State College at Jacksonville, Fla, will receive a $198,790 Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant to help low-income residents learn the skills needed to secure employment in the environmental field.
- By Jessica Davis
- Dec 08, 2017
EPA announced that Florida State College at Jacksonville, Fla, will receive a $198,790 Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) grant to help low-income residents learn the skills needed to secure employment in the environmental field.
The college plans to recruit and train unemployed and underemployed residents of Health Zone 1 with skills needed to safely conduct remediation work at solid and hazardous waste-contaminated sites, as well as appropriate training in wastewater management and chemical safety. They plan to then place them in environmental careers.
"This grant award is a win-win for our community, as it trains unemployed and underemployed area residents for meaningful well-paying jobs that will have a lasting impact on our community by helping to improve our environment," U.S. Rep. Al Lawson said.
EPA's EWDJT program was started in 1998. The program awards competitive grants to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train, and place unemployed and underemployed individuals, many of whom have often overcome a variety of barriers to employment.
In the two decades since it began, more than 274 grants have been awarded exceeding $57 million, approximately 16,300 individuals have completed training, and of those, more than 11,900 individuals have been placed in full-time employment earning an average starting wage above $14 an hour. This equates to a cumulative job placement rate of 73 percent of graduates.
About the Author
Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.