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Best Practices Front Page |
NIEHS/OSHA Joint Grantee Workshop April 17-19, 2001 Page 31
Best Practices for Worker Training
Final Report May, 2001
programs has enabled CPWR to maintain interest and participation in the training and to
help ensure that construction workers involved in hazard abatement across the U.S. have
received top-quality safety and health training.
While the Building Trades Unions have had a long relationship with employers through
their apprenticeship programs, emergence of the environmental remediation sector has
created challenges for the traditional union-employer training relationship. Hazwoper
training must be successfully completed before a worker can begin work. This training is
of relatively long duration and very specific to tasks that are largely unique in
construction. Hazwoper training must be provided to all of the crafts engaged in a
remediation job. And, employers need crafts from many local unions that are already
hazwoper certified. The CPWR has met these challenges through improved targeting and
meeting of actual industry/employer needs, development of train-the-trainer programs,
maintaining emphasis and support of peer instructors who can effectively bridge the
experienced craft person to hazwoper work building upon the craft skills, and developing
training partnerships within the Building Trades Department.
Joint Funding with other Agencies: Superfund, JTI, Brownfields and DOE
Myra Blakely (EPA Brownfields Program)
Richard Brancato (DOE)
Marian Flum (University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Brownfield Minority Worker Training
Program)
Best practices:
Meeting multi-agency and targeted worker populations’
hazwoper training needs through a single training grant
administration entity, approaches used to build local job
training initiatives, and examples of additional leveraged
funding from other entities.
The EPA Brownfields Job Training and Development Pilot Program, initiated in 1998,
was established as a way of ensuring that local communities share in the short and long
term benefits of Brownfields cleanup and redevelopment efforts. To date, EPA has
awarded 37 pilots which are providing training in the handling and removal of hazardous
substances related to the implementation of alternative or innovative treatment
technologies. The pilot program encourages building partnerships with public and private
entities to provide resources to leverage the grant. Activities supported by these partners
include: recruitment, case management, day care, transportation, counseling, placement
and follow-up of newly employed trainees. The pilots, administered by non-profit
universities, community colleges, cities, counties and federally recognized Indian Tribes,
have leveraged funds through foundations, other federal, state and local governments and
the private sector. This presentation provided information on how to develop sustainable,
local job training initiatives through partnership building.
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