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EPA Honors Nye County Graduates of Brownfields Job Training Program

Release Date: 09/30/2013
Contact Information: Margot Perez-Sullivan, (415) 947-4149, [email protected]

SAN FRANCISCO – (09/30/13) The Environmental Protection Agency joins Nye County in congratulating 22 graduates who completed environmental career training programs. These programs, funded by EPA’s Brownfields Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program, are designed to provide unemployed or under-employed students the broad array of skills and professional certifications necessary to enter the environmental remediation market.

Nye County partnered with Nye Community Coalition to offer their students certificates in environmental remediation, as well as other professional skills to support the long-term success of their students. The diverse group of graduates, ranging in age from 18 to 60, participated in a six week course that offered over 150 hours of training in which they individually received eight federal and/or state recognized certifications.

“Through EPA’s job training program, today’s graduates are ready to launch a career with local employers,” said Enrique Manzanilla, EPA’s Superfund Division Director for the Pacific Southwest. “A wide range of industries, from mining and solar power to solid waste and recycling, all need employees with the environmental management skills these graduates have earned. Their accomplishment will have broad benefits for their community and the environment.”

Nye County is coordinating with local companies to place graduates in jobs in solid waste management, recycling, and renewable energy, as well as environmental management for a regional mine. Additionally, Nye County has an EPA Brownfields Assessment grant and this year received a Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grant. Nye County’s land revitalization efforts are uniquely focused on supporting renewable energy industries, as well as community reinvestment.

“It is an honor to announce the first graduating class for Nye County’s Brownfields Workforce Development and Job Training Program,” said Andrew “Butch” Borasky, Chair of the Nye County Board of County Commissioners. “Congratulations to each and every one of these students for their hard work and commitment to the program. Nye County deeply appreciates our partnership with EPA and with the Nye Communities Coalition. Their support for professional job training helps the community by putting people to work in jobs with a solid career path.”

In 2013, $3.2 million in funds were awarded nationally under the Workforce Development and Job Training program. As of May 2013, more than 11,000 Americans have completed training through the support of this Program, of which, more than 8,000 have obtained employment in the environmental field.

For more information on EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/job.htm

For more information on EPA’s Brownfields program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/index.htm