Release Date: 05/27/2015 Contact Information: Suzanne Skadowski, 415-972-3165, skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a $192,300 environmental workforce development grant to RichmondBUILD, an environmental job training program in Richmond, Calif. RichmondBUILD will use the federal grant to train 51 students and place at least 45 graduates in environmental jobs including solar energy installation, hazardous waste removal, and construction. “We’re pleased to see RichmondBUILD is helping community members gain the skills and experience needed for good-paying, green jobs that help protect our environment,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “EPA is proud to continue our support for RichmondBUILD.”

RichmondBUILD was one of the first job training programs to receive funding from EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program when it was launched in 1998. According to RichmondBUILD, the program has successfully graduated hundreds of students and places 80 percent of its graduates at an average starting wage of $18.33 an hour. The program has recently partnered with Marin Clean Energy, their contractor Stion, and Chevron to train and hire RichmondBUILD graduates for the Solar One Project, a new 60-acre, 12 megawatt solar farm at a former Chevron Richmond Refinery brownfield site.

EPA’s environmental workforce development and job training grants are provided to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train, and place residents from pollution-impacted communities, including low-income and minority, unemployed, and underemployed individuals. EPA has funded 239 job training grants totaling over $49 million through the job training program. More than 13,800 students have completed training and more than 10,000 have obtained employment in the environmental field.

More information about EPA’s environmental workforce development program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/job.htm

More information about RichmondBUILD: http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/index.aspx?nid=1243