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State government establishing the program

The state government intends to use a 300,000 federal grant to finance a green jobs training program in Camden that will target unemployed or underemployed residents for jobs in assessing and cleaning up brownfields and contaminated sites in the.

The aid will be allocated through the state Office of Economic Growth and Green Energy (EGGE), which has created the training program.

Seventy-two Camden residents will be selected for the training that is designed to offer them long-term employment opportunities. The participants will be trained in the identification of contaminated sites to determine if they can be redeveloped as well as hazard awareness and safety, renewable energy installation and repair, energy efficient buildings, low-impact development, natural stormwater treatment, and habitat rehabilitation.

"The goal of the program is to help re-tool the Camden workforce by offering training for jobs that specialize in green and sustainable revitalization and redevelopment of their own city,'' DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said on Friday. "It's a great example of how we can improve an urban environment, to protect the health and welfare of residents while providing new jobs and career opportunities.

"The skills that are developed can be used in future environmental projects across New Jersey,'' Martin added. "These Camden residents can be in the forefront of the state's renewable energy efforts, working on projects such as solar installation and repair.''

State Labor Commissioner Harold Wirths state Employment Training Commission Director Michele Horst noted Camden has one of the state's highest unemployment rates. The two agencies are administering a new round of "green training'' grants under the state Energy Sector Program, which focuses on employers.

"We are building on a core policy in New Jersey of having employers identify their employee training needs to become energy efficient, reduce operating costs and be more competitive,'' Wirths said.

The aid announcement was made at the Meadows at Pyne Point, a 40-unit special needs housing project on the former Knox Gelatin site in North Camden.

It is anticipated that Camden residents trained in this program will be able to work on brownfield sites, including the Knox Gelatin property and the nearby Harrison Avenue landfill, which is undergoing remediation to prepare it for a new Salvation Army Community Center.