Iowa Western Community College has received a grant from the EPA to train people to work on rehabilitation and environmental projects. (Photo courtesy of Iowa Western Community College)
Iowa Western Community College will recruit and train people to safely demolish buildings and return contaminated areas to spaces where people can live safely with a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA announced in a news release that Iowa Western Community College, located in Council Bluffs, has received a $478,474 grant through the Brownfields Job Training Program, which helps organizations prepare and hire people in rehabilitation of areas where the environment is believed or confirmed to be contaminated. .
Matt Mancuso, vice president of business and community education, said in an interview that the college will use these funds to recruit and train as many as 96 students over the next four years and help them find employment in Council Bluffs, North Omaha and surrounding areas. on brownfield sites.
“It’s exciting for both Iowa Western and the community to receive this type of training,” Mancuso said.
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The EPA has directed Iowa Western to recruit underemployed or unemployed individuals to strengthen the workforce, Mancuso said, and program participants will receive a stipend. The final year of the five-year fellowship is spent following up with graduates to see where they are and whether they are still working.
Those who take the four-week training will learn about safely deconstructing buildings, Mancuso said, as well as procedures for handling lead paint and asbestos and OSHA standards. The college developed the curriculum after consulting with Council Bluffs officials to figure out what would be most valuable to the community.
Participants can leave the training with up to five federal certifications, and nearly 70 will be placed in environmental positions, according to the release. Mancuso said there are brownfields all over the U.S., including Council Bluffs, but even those who don’t work specifically at a site will have skills that are in high demand.
Mancuso said he hopes the program will be a game-changer for both the students and the organizations and businesses the university serves.
“Today’s announcement is an important step in revitalizing communities and transforming underutilized spaces across the Midwest,” EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister said in the release. “We congratulate the selected organizations and look forward to working together to develop a skilled workforce in environmental jobs.”
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