Worker Training Program
The Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP) provides opportunities for individuals from disadvantaged communities to obtain careers in environmental cleanup, construction, hazardous waste removal, and emergency response. To date, more than 14,500 people have been trained by the program's partners, which include community colleges, historically black colleges and universities, and apprenticeship programs, among others. From 1995 to 2023, the ECWTP has maintained an average job placement rate of 70%, and it has provided an economic boon to communities across the country while advancing environmental justice.
ECWTP is proud to be selected as a participant in the new Justice40 Initiative. This whole-of-government initiative aims to deliver 40% of the overall benefits from Federal investments in climate change, clean energy, clean transportation, affordable housing, water infrastructure, workforce development, and pollution remediation to disadvantaged communities. ECWTP was selected because of its strong track record of helping unemployed, underemployed, homeless, and formerly incarcerated people find good jobs and become productive members of society. Learn more about the program and the many communities who have benefited from it by reading this fact sheet (565KB).
Life Skills and Job Readiness Training
Life skills and other pre-employment training are a fundamental component of the ECWTP. This instruction provides trainees with the personal and interpersonal skills required to deal with the challenges of everyday life and to obtain and sustain employment. Life skills curricula address topics such as:
- Confidence building
- Cultural diversity
- Financial responsibility
- Job readiness/employment success
- Stress and time management
- Work relationship dynamics
Some ECWTP-supported training also includes enrollment in apprenticeship programs. Apprenticeships provide trainees with on-the-job training in a specific trade and prepare the trainee for a long-term career in the profession. Mentoring and counseling are also an important part of the ECWTP, as they help trainees to develop direction, confidence, and positive attitudes toward job training and work.
Success through Partnerships
Partnerships are integral to the success of the ECWTP. Program award recipients have developed partnerships with government agencies, community and faith-based organizations, academia, labor unions, and employers to help support ECWTP recruitment, training, and employment opportunities.
ECWTP Produces Positive Results
A 2024 study (5MB) of the ECWTP's impact showed that the program has a positive nationwide economic impact. The study shows that from 2014 to 2022, the program returned approximately 28 times the amount invested by the federal government back into the economy. Other direct benefits to the economy include increased earnings, reduction in workplace injuries, and hiring cost and crime-related cost savings. The executive summary (556KB) and flyer (118KB) provide a high-level overview of the study's results.
The 2024 study builds on the methodology and results reported in a 2015 economic impact study (1MB).
To learn more about ECWTP trainee success stories, listen to a podcast series, NIEHS Program Builds Careers, Changes Lives.
A video from ECWTP award recipient Sustainable Workplace Alliance, features stories from graduates in their Career Launch Program. In this video, graduates share how the program has impacted their careers.
ECWTP Award Recipients
The following organizations are funded through May 2025. In support of Justice40, NIEHS WTP expanded funding for the ECWTP on June 1, 2022, for a total of $4,258,886 for FY22 to add new pilot sites and to train more students. The additional funding of $713,766 was awarded to five of the funded organizations.