United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

ContaCts: U.s. EPa Region 9 (213) 244-1821 or visit the EPa Brownfields Web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields

Success Story

GREEN JOBS RESULTING 

IN SUSTAINABLE CAREERS

Richmond, CA

The Richmond Brownfields Job Training Partnership (RBJTP) program offers 

disadvantaged and unemployed city residents the job training and support network 

they need to develop environmental careers. 

HIG H LIG H T S

Local private firms have committed to 

hiring program graduates.

The 250-hour program provides 

graduates with six certification 

modules tailored to the local and 

regional job markets.

The City of Richmond’s Employment 

and Training Department (ETD) has 

leveraged millions of dollars from 

local private sector employers for its 

training programs.

In 2009, the City of Richmond, California was awarded a $500,000 EPA 

Brownfields Job Training Grant to support the operation of the Richmond 

Brownfields Job Training Partnership (RBJTP or Partnership) program. EPA’s 

Brownfields Program awards job training grants to training programs that 

teach unemployed and underemployed individuals how to evaluate and clean 

up former industrial and commercial sites. 

Community History

The City of Richmond is a diverse community with a rich history. The city 

has served as an industrial and commercial hub since the beginning of the 

20th century. Its growth has been linked to its geographic placement, as it is 

accessible by both land and sea. In the past century, the city has experienced 

a population boom, a severe decline, and an eventual resurgence. 

Asbestos class creates 

decontamination area using PVC 

pipe, plastic sheeting, and duct tape

Success Story
Richmond first began to industrialize in 1899 when 

the Santa Fe Railroad made Point Richmond its 

western terminus, followed two years later by Standard 

Oil Company building a refinery. By 1905, the year 

Richmond became incorporated as a city, the area 

had been established as an industrial town. The 

outbreak of World War II greatly increased the pace of 

industrialization in Richmond, as it became home to the 

biggest wartime shipbuilding operations on the West 

Coast. The city became a boomtown almost overnight, 

with its population quadrupling from 1940 to 1943. 

People streamed in from across the country to become 

part of the workforce, living in temporary housing units. 

After the war, Richmond experienced a rapid decline 

in both industrial production and population. By 

1960 the population had decreased by 30 percent 

and deindustrialization had taken root. To address 

waning industrial production, the city initiated many 

redevelopment projects, taking advantage of its 

vacated shipyards to encourage the growth of new 

industrial and commercial opportunities. These projects 

created strong growth in warehousing, distribution, and 

chemical and research facilities. Since the 1960s the 

city’s population has recovered; however, the legacy of 

Richmond’s industrial production has left an indelible 

mark on the community. California’s Department of 

Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has identified more 

than 25 sites, covering over 14 million square feet, as 

brownfields. 

While Richmond’s residents are diverse, with minority 

groups making up over 75 percent of the city’s 

population, the city suffers from serious social and 

economic problems and is considered a disadvantaged 

community. The recent severe economic downturn 

has hit Richmond especially hard, adversely affecting 

unemployment in a community that already suffers high 

poverty and high school dropout rates. 

Richmond Brownfields Job Training Partnership

Richmond used its EPA Brownfields Job Training Grant 

to create the RBTJP, a program designed to educate, 

train, and place participants in the environmental 

cleanup and green industries workforce. The 

Partnership is administered through the Richmond 

BUILD program, which is part of the city’s Employment 

and Training Department (ETD). Richmond BUILD is 

the city’s green job training program and the city has 

used its experience and expertise to jumpstart the 

Partnership.

The RBTJP is a three-year program comprised of four 

10-week training cycles. The majority of the training 

will take place during years one and two, with followup services, refresher training and program evaluation 

in year three. Each 10-week cycle will include nine 

components totaling 250 hours of training. The 

Partnership will train about 130 participants and has 

an anticipated job placement rate of 80 percent. It will 

benefit from its collaboration with the Richmond BUILD 

program, which has a waitlist of over 350 people that 

can be tapped for qualified participants.

The training program includes six certification 

modules including: Hazardous Waste Operations 

and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER) 

certification; lead, asbestos and mold abatement 

certifications; Bay Area Technical Training (BATT) 

certification; and Richmond BUILD certification. 

BATT certification is provided by the Bay Area Training 

Trust and teaches trainees about the hazards and 

safeguards related to work in refineries, chemical 

plants, and other industrial facilities. Richmond BUILD 

certification trains the participants in construction skills 

and educates them on the current California Green 

Building Standards Code, which includes areas such 

as energy efficiency, HVAC design, construction waste 

reduction, and environmental quality. Participants are 

also given hands-on training in both solar electric and 

solar thermal installation.

Participants in the Partnership must be residents of the 

City of Richmond, considered low income, classified as 

unemployed or underemployed, and express genuine 

interest in pursuing a career in the environmental or 

green jobs industry. Applicants to the program are 

assessed to determine their math and literacy levels, 

as well as their pre-construction skills aptitudes. 

Once accepted, participants complete an Individual 

Education and Employment Plan (IEEP) that sets 

personal goals to be achieved during and after training. 

Leveraged Support

The Richmond BUILD program has been a model of 

effective and broad public-private partnerships since its 

creation in 2007. It has won several awards including 

the 2008 FBI’s Director’s Community Leadership Award. 

Its success has allowed the city to leverage significant 

resources for the Partnership. 

Richmond BUILD is comprised of three facilities totaling 

over 35,000 square feet and includes classrooms, 

a computer lab, and open space for hands-on 

Contacts: U.S. EPA Region 9 (213) 244-1821 or visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields
construction training. Program funding has also been 

leveraged from key partners, including: Richmond 

Housing Department, Neighborhood Stabilization 

Program, and the Energy Efficiency Block Grant. 

Other key partners will provide non-environmental 

programming to 

RBJTP training 

participants—

including 

Opportunity 

West, a 

communitybased 

organization in 

Central Richmond; West Contra Costa Adult Education; 

and Contra Costa Community College. 

The Richmond Housing Authority (RHA), as well as a 

number of private environmental firms, has expressed 

strong interest in hiring graduates of the RBJTP 

program. Backing this interest is a First Sources Hiring 

Agreement that contractors working for the RHA’s Lead 

Abatement program, as well as several other cleanup 

and redevelopment programs, must hire city residents. 

The Lead Abatement program alone will need 

approximately 200 workers, many of whom are likely to 

be RBJTP program graduates.

The RBJTP program will also benefit from leveraged 

private sector support, both in terms of hiring 

commitments and funding. The ETD received a sixyear, $2.4 million commitment from the city’s major 

petroleum firm for its training programs. The financial 

commitments of this firm and several other private 

sector employers increase the incentive for these 

companies to hire RBJTP program graduates. 

Program Graduates’ Success to Date

As of October 2010, 3 classes have completed the 

RBJTP training program, with 22 out of the 34 program 

graduates already finding work. The average hourly 

wage for those who graduated and found employment 

is $16.25. The employment of five program graduates 

is particularly interesting. These graduates were 

hired by a private firm to assist in the cleanup of the 

BP Gulf Oil Spill. They are provided free room and 

board, meals, transportation between Louisiana and 

Richmond, CA every four weeks, a per diem and 

$17 per hour plus overtime and double-time. They 

work aboard a ship in the Gulf utilizing the training 

they received from the RBJTP program while gaining 

valuable work experience. The job training program in 

Richmond, CA continues to prepare its graduates for 

participation in the environmental workforce.

Five graduates of the RBJTP 

program were hired to assist 

in the Gulf of Mexico cleanup 

in the wake of the Deepwater 

Horizon oil spill.

Brownfields Success Story

Richmond, California

Job Training Program

Solid Waste 

and Emergency 

Response (5105T)

EPA 560-F-10-013 

December 2010 

www.epa.gov/brownfields/

Contacts: U.S. EPA Region 9 (213) 244-1821 or visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields