The NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP), through its Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP), provides technical and life skills training to residents of underserved and disadvantaged communities, helping to promote a sustainable environmental career path in the hazardous materials/waste handling, environmental remediation, construction, emergency response, and other emerging industries. In response to the growth of the “green” economy and the emergence of new health and safety concerns for workers in “green jobs,” some WTP award recipients have incorporated green jobs components – on topics such as weatherization, green building, and green chemistry – into their curriculum to better prepare low-income and minority residents for the green jobs market. The WTP has participated in and continues to monitor discussions on green jobs training and occupational health hazards associated with green industries in an effort to ensure that green jobs are safe jobs.

Training Resources

WTP Resources

• Environmental Justice and Hazardous Waste Worker Training Programs: 15 Years of Investment in Environmental Justice(1.49MB)
• Minority Worker Training Program: Guidance on How to Achieve Successes and Best Practices(8MB)
• Spring 2010 Green Jobs Training Resource-Sharing Session: Developing a Green Safety and Health Movement(141KB)
• The Economic Impact of the Environmental Career Worker Training Program(1.55MB)
• Training for Recovery: Accomplishments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding(5.8MB)

WTP Award Recipient Resources

• CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training
  • Introduction to Green Building Awareness & Weatherization
  • Introduction to Green Weatherization/Awareness & Hands-on Training
• International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)
  • Green Chemistry & Green Awareness
• Midwest Consortium for Hazardous Waste Worker Training
  • Weatherization
• Western Region Universities Consortium (WRUC)
  • Decoding Green Chemistry for Workers
  • Green Building Construction Workers Safety and Health
  • Introduction to Green Jobs

WTP Technical Workshops

• Fall 2014 Technical Workshop – Climate Change and Worker Health
• 2010 Conference on Environmental Justice, Air Quality, Goods Movement, and Green Jobs: Evolution and Innovation
• Fall 2010 Technical Workshop – Back to the Basics
• Fall 2008 Technical Workshop – Implications for Safety and Health Training in a Green Economy

Federal Links and Documents

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

• Climate Change and Occupational Safety and Health
• Prevention through Design

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

• Green Job Hazards Page

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

• Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Education Page

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Superfund Green Remediation

Other Links and Documents

• BlueGreen Alliance Home Page
• European Agency for Safety and Health at Work: Workers’ Safety and Health in Green Jobs
• International Labour Organization (ILO) Green Jobs Page