Congratulations! 2020 Environmental Career Worker Training Program Graduates!

Congratulations! 2020 Environmental Career Worker Training Program Graduates!

May 1, 2020

Congratulations! 2020 Environmental Career Worker Training Program Graduates!

May 2020 – Hats off to the recent graduates of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Spring 2020 Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP).  Our New Orleans-based program took place January 21st through March 26th of 2020. An eager group of twenty-five (25) aspiring young men  and women embarked on a new career path, as they chose to take part in our training program consisting of a basic skills curriculum utilizing a work-based learning model and a technical skills training which blends hands-on and classroom learning.

We are proud to say that the graduating Class of 2020, consisting of all twenty-five (25) participants, received certificates in forty (40) hours hazardous waste operator, thirty-two (32) hours Asbestos Abatement Worker, sixteen (16) hours Mold Remediation, sixteen (16) hours Lead Abatement Worker, ten (10) hours OSHA General Industry, forty (40) hours Construction, and forty (40) hours Weatherization Installer.

Our graduation ceremony is always the highlight of our culminating activities and we wanted to give our graduates in this year’s pandemic environment a similar experience. A virtual ceremony was held where graduates were recognized for significant achievement by their instructors, counselors, and program staff. Kendra A. Graves was named “Best All Around Student" for her excellent performance in all aspects of the training.
Another bit of exciting news is that James Kelly, III accepted a permanent position with Battelle CCDS in Columbus, Ohio as a COVID19 Response Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Decontaminator. Battelle uses a Critical Care Decontamination System™ to addresses the current shortage of critical (PPE) across the United States.  This is just one example of the program’s overall success with changing lives and training young men and women in environmental health and safety careers for over twenty-five years.
We will as always, continue our job placement efforts to place our remaining graduates into viable and sustainable employment. The next New Orleans ECWTP training will be held in the Spring of 2021. For more information about our training, please visit our website at http://www.dscej.org/our-work/worker-health-and-safety-training and click on Environmental Career Worker Training Program.

The Environmental Career Worker Training Program is funded by the National Institutes for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
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