Several-dozen Detroiters have new professional opportunities, thanks to a city-led environmental training program.

Advanced-level certificates were awarded to 79 graduates of various construction and deconstruction disciplines at a recent Northwest Activities Center ceremony. The City of Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) hosted training that ranged from five to 11 weeks, through a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant to train citizens in hazardous materials abatement. 

The course, Detroit Environmental Employment Program, recruited unemployed or underemployed city residents, along with low-income, displaced, and people of color.

“This has been a very successful program” said David Bell, director of BSEED.  “Detroit has had a skills shortage in this area and, with blight abatement being a priority for this administration, it’s critical that we have Detroiters trained to help rebuild Detroit.”

The BSEED grant was awarded in 2014. Detroit Employment Solutions Corp. led the charge to identify potential trainees and job-seekers. Those enrolled in the program earned certification in areas ranging from asbestos and lead abatement and OSHA 30 to Hazardous Waste and Emergency Response Standard.

Detroit’s increased attack against neighborhood blight and ongoing nuisance abatement efforts make the training timely for residents looking for employment in environmental fields, officials said.

“Wherever you look in Detroit, you can see examples of the boom in infrastructure development” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “The DEEP program not only ensures that we have people with the right skills working on these projects, it also makes sure that we have our citizens being trained to rebuild our city.”

  Mayor Duggan