Iowa Western Community College, with a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will recruit and train people to safely demolish buildings and return contaminated areas to spaces where people can live safely.
The EPA announced in a news release that Iowa Western Community College, based in Council Bluffs, received a $478,474 grant through the Brownfields Job Training Program, which helps organizations prepare people for remediation and discontinue use in areas where the environment is suspected or proven to be contaminated.
Matt Mancuso, vice president of economic and community education, said in an interview that the college will use those funds to recruit and train up to 96 students over the next four years and help them find jobs in Council Bluffs, North Omaha and surrounding areas to help on fallow land.
“It is exciting for both Iowa Western and the community to have this type of training,” Mancuso said.
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The EPA hired Iowa Western to recruit underemployed or unemployed people to bolster the workforce, Mancuso said, and program participants would receive a stipend. The final year of the five-year fellowship will be spent surveying graduates to see where they are and whether they are still employed.
Those who complete the four-week training will learn about safe building dismantling, Mancuso said, as well as procedures for dealing with lead paint and asbestos, as well as OSHA standards. The college developed the curriculum after speaking with Council Bluffs officials to determine 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 jobs, 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 location have skills that are in high demand.
Mancuso said he hopes the program will be a game-changer for both students and the organizations and businesses the college serves.
“Today’s announcement is an important step toward revitalizing communities and transforming underutilized lands in the Midwest,” EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister said in the release. “We congratulate the selected organizations and look forward to working together to build a skilled workforce for environmental careers.”
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