The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) training programs encourage innovation for training difficult-to-reach populations by addressing issues such as literacy, appropriate adult education techniques, training quality improvement, and other areas un-addressed directly by the private sector. Programs that support building community, environmental justice, and labor-based partnerships are integral parts of the program; therefore funding support has expanded to include new initiatives. Those initiatives include workers involved in a Minority Worker Training Program to serve urban young adults, a program focused on job training for Brownfields cleanup sites, specific training initiatives for residents surrounding superfund sites, and a program targeted to workers involved in the cleanup of DOE nuclear weapons facilities.
In 1995 the NIEHS expanded training to reach underseved populations under the Minority Worker Training Program (MWTP). The main goal of this program is to recruit young people of color and provide a vigorous training program that eventually leads to productive employment. The MWTP over the past four years through has successfully trained 1,278 young minority adults in worker health and safety training for construction and environmental cleanup through programs with the Center to Protect Workers' Rights, Clark Atlanta University, Jackson State University, DePaul University, Laborers-AGC Education and Training Fund and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). Training has occurred in approximately 18 urban cities. and Washington, DC.
Learning Objectives: Describe the component of the Minority Worker Training Program (MWTP). List the grantees and programs under the MWTP and describe how they developed the community partnerships. Articulate the accomplishments of the program
Keywords: Occupational Safety, Community Collaboration
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.