Adult Job Training

Groundwork Rhode Island’s Adult Job Training introduces local residents to career pathways in the environmental sector – particularly in the areas of brownfield remediation, lead abatement, wastewater treatment and stormwater management, tree work, and urban land restoration. The training offers many certifications that help participants become more competitive job applicants, and gives students hands-on experience in stormwater, garden, composting, and tree planting projects that also improve our community. By helping people access resources and develop the skills they need to make a difference in their own communities, Groundwork RI hopes to build a lasting force for change across Rhode Island. Groundwork RI’s education, employment, job training and stewardship programs all serve the common goal of creating and sustaining healthy, beautiful, and resilient communities for all.

Core Curriculum

• OSHA HAZWOPER 40 hours with Confined Space Entry Awareness
• OSHA Construction Safety 10 hours
• First AID/CPR
• EPA-Certified 8 Hour Lead Renovator Training
• Indoor Air Quality and Vapor Intrusion
• Wastewater/Sewage Treatment
• Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Management
• Center for Watershed Protection’s Clean Water Certificate
• Providence Community Tree Keepers
• Roots of Success Environmental Literacy curriculum
• Contextualized curriculum and hands-on training

Our Trainees

Groundwork Rhode Island recruits highly motivated trainees from urban core communities in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket, with a special emphasis on serving formerly-incarcerated individuals and residents of public housing. All applicants are invited to complete an orientation with Groundwork Rhode Island before enrolling in the program. All participants must be legal U.S. residents (due to our funding restrictions), meet income requirements for free training, and/or be a displaced worker due to lay-offs or industry closures. A high school degree or equivalency is recommended but not required. We accept participants who have a strong interest in careers in hazardous materials handling/clean-up and sustainable urban landscaping, and are looking for opportunities to get ahead, build community, and make a difference.

Outcomes

Groundwork Rhode Island has been conducting Environmental Job Training since 2002. To date we have placed an average of 70% of training graduates in jobs ranging from temporary crew positions on remediation projects to full-time salaried positions with remediation contractors, Aerotek, T.F. Green Airport, Tremco Roofing, ReMix Organics, weatherization contractors, Thielsch Engineering, landscaping and tree care companies, and others.

Read Brownfields Success Story: Job Training for Dads in Rhode Island on the EPA Brownfields website about our successful partnership with Children’s Friend and their Dads Job Training Program.

Program Partners

Groundwork Rhode Island’s Environmental Job Training Program was developed in partnership with representatives from the environmental services and consulting industry, community organizations, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the Rhode Island Department of Health, the University of Rhode Island, the Providence Housing Authority, and many other partners. The program design process combines the expertise and lessons learned from Groundwork Rhode Island’s past Adult Job Training programs with best practices from our local partners and job training providers across the country. The program is funded through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Job Training Grant Program. Our primary partners include:

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM)
• Garden Time
• Progreso Latino
• Providence Neighborhood Planting Program
• OpenDoors

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