Worker Training Program
Table of Contents
(Photo courtesy of Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center)
Since 1987, the NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) has supported a national network of institutions that deliver high-quality, peer-reviewed safety and health curricula to hazardous waste workers and emergency responders in every region of the United States. The following reports, highlights, and training summaries describe some of the accomplishments and impacts of the program.
Annual Reports
Program Highlights
State Profiles
- Worker Training Program: Alabama (910KB)
- Worker Training Program: Alaska (1MB)
- Worker Training Program: California (1MB)
- Worker Training Program: Connecticut (210KB)
- Worker Training Program: Minnesota (905KB)
- Worker Training Program: Mississippi (889KB)
- Worker Training Program: New Jersey (1MB)
- Worker Training Program: New Mexico (827KB)
- Worker Training Program: New York (1MB)
- Worker Training Program: Ohio (900KB)
- Worker Training Program: Texas (303KB)
Success Stories
- Advancing Health and Safety Training for Firefighters and First Responders
- Building Capacity with Native Americans and Alaska Natives to Handle Hazardous Materials and Respond to Emergencies (7MB)
- Chris Cain - Promoting Training and Career Opportunities for Construction Workers
- Community College Program Advances Worker Safety and Confidence (1MB)
- Innovative Training Program Improves Facility Safety, Empowers Workers, and Saves Costs (661KB)
- Providing Training and Tools for Hurricane Harvey Recovery
- Providing Worker Training to Improve Our Nation's Infectious Disease Preparedness
- WTP Grantee Advances Worker Health, Safety, and Environmental Training
- WTP Grantee Provides New Career Paths to Veterans (1MB)
Environmental Factor (NIEHS News) Stories
- Environmental Career Worker Training Program Celebrates 25 Years - August 2020
- Protecting workers during the COVID-19 outbreak - April 2020
- Navajo area railroad workers learn protective skills - May 2019
- Mold and health classes help Hurricane Florence workers, residents - April 2019
- Wildfire cleanup crews benefit from worker training - October 2018
- Infectious disease training improves airport worker preparedness - July 2017
- Flint water crisis opens path to new employment - May 2017
- NIEHS supports tribal emergency preparedness in North Dakota - February 2017
- Safety training for community members involved in cleanup - September 2016
- Evaluating worker training from the mid-management perspective - August 2015
Training Summaries
The following training summaries provide an overview of the total number of workers/students trained, courses provided, and course hours completed across the WTP program areas. The tables also highlight job placement rates for the Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP), known as the Minority Worker Training Program (MWTP) until 2014, and the NIEHS / U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Minority Worker Training Program (funded from 1998 to 2008). (See also the WTP Overview Flyer (315KB).)
Highlights from the summaries include:
- Since 1987, the Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program (HWWTP) has supported the training of more than 3.3 million workers for a total of more than 37.3 million contact hours.
- Over a 26-year period, NIEHS / U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awardees have delivered more than 8.5 million contact hours of safety and health training across the DOE complex. During that time, awardees have trained more than 651,000 workers.
- Over 12,000 students have been trained under the ECWTP and the NIEHS/EPA Brownfields Minority Worker Training Program, with 70% of program graduates finding jobs in environmental remediation or construction fields.
- Since 2006, HAZMAT Disaster Preparedness Training Program (HDPTP) awardees have trained over 166,000 workers, delivering more than 1.6 million contact hours of training.
NIEHS HWWTP 32-Year Training Summary for the Budget Period Aug. 1, 1987 – July 31, 2019
| Year | Total Courses | Total Workers | Total Contact Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-1998 | 38,483 | 730,063 | 11,417,361 |
| 1999 | 3,981 | 74,013 | 956,251 |
| 2000 | 4,124 | 75,155 | 984,350 |
| 2001 | 4,806 | 79,710 | 1,031,394 |
| 2002 | 5,298 | 93,996 | 1,098,503 |
| 2003 | 5,586 | 95,265 | 1,132,682 |
| 2004 | 7,054 | 124,127 | 1,222,333 |
| 2005 | 7,663 | 130,837 | 1,211,824 |
| 2006 | 6,696 | 111,872 | 1,159,651 |
| 2007 | 7,848 | 131,037 | 1,425,059 |
| 2008 | 8,115 | 140,126 | 1,385,505 |
| 2009 | 8,308 | 149,488 | 1,458,660 |
| 2010 | 9,075 | 172,308 | 1,552,429 |
| 2011 | 7,775 | 134,539 | 1,306,807 |
| 2012 | 8,444 | 137,358 | 1,348,264 |
| 2013 | 8,607 | 142,141 | 1,407,102 |
| 2014 | 9,561 | 161,958 | 1,407,558 |
| 2015 | 9,300 | 164,346 | 1,434,561 |
| 2016 | 7,449 | 121,379 | 1,112,322 |
| 2017 | 7,382 | 112,622 | 1,057,864 |
| 2018 | 7,979 | 134,641 | 1,078,783 |
| 2019 | 7,697 | 121,647 | 1,131,218 |
| Total | 191,230 | 3,338,580 | 37,318,177 |
NIEHS/DOE Nuclear Worker Training Program 26-Year Training Summary for the Budget Period Sept. 1, 1993 – Aug. 31, 2019
| Year | Total Courses | Total Workers | Total Contact Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 486 | 7,107 | 184,604 |
| 1995 | 1,091 | 13,566 | 249,704 |
| 1996 | 1,199 | 18,642 | 290,938 |
| 1997 | 1,277 | 18,394 | 244,212 |
| 1998 | 983 | 15,048 | 217,666 |
| 1999 | 922 | 14,049 | 202,997 |
| 2000 | 1,152 | 15,860 | 218,087 |
| 2001 | 1,379 | 18,833 | 245,436 |
| 2002 | 1,954 | 25,399 | 302,723 |
| 2003 | 1,959 | 23,187 | 303,633 |
| 2004 | 2,367 | 29,240 | 374,957 |
| 2005 | 1,961 | 25,442 | 329,840 |
| 2006 | 2,044 | 26,365 | 325,533 |
| 2007 | 2,283 | 34,074 | 402,635 |
| 2008 | 2,225 | 33,702 | 414,746 |
| 2009 | 2,265 | 36,266 | 530,271 |
| 2010 | 2,188 | 35,329 | 523,287 |
| 2011 | 1,987 | 31,238 | 405,556 |
| 2012 | 1,963 | 29,842 | 365,083 |
| 2013 | 1,790 | 27,737 | 309,977 |
| 2014 | 1,900 | 28,334 | 311,412 |
| 2015 | 1,830 | 26,396 | 323,316 |
| 2016 | 1,927 | 28,162 | 368,680 |
| 2017 | 2,066 | 32,202 | 389,786 |
| 2018 | 1,679 | 27,769 | 343,923 |
| 2019 | 1,795 | 29,714 | 368,276 |
| Total | 44,672 | 651,897 | 8,545,134 |
NIEHS ECWTP (formerly MWTP) 24-Year Training Summary for the Budget Period Aug. 1, 1995 – July 31, 2019*
| Year | Students Trained | Placed in Jobs | Percentage of Students Placed in Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-2008 | 7,566 | 5,115 | 68% |
| 2009 | 379 | 285 | 75% |
| 2010 | 531 | 372 | 70% |
| 2011 | 396 | 291 | 73% |
| 2012 | 366 | 274 | 75% |
| 2013 | 367 | 279 | 76% |
| 2014 | 348 | 269 | 77% |
| 2015 | 397 | 323 | 81% |
| 2016 | 440 | 334 | 76% |
| 2017 | 562 | 392 | 70% |
| 2018 | 569 | 423 | 74% |
| 2019 | 644 | 497 | 77% |
| Total | 12,565 | 8,854 | 70% |
* The 1996 – 2008 numbers include numbers from the NIEHS/EPA Brownfields Minority Worker Training Program.
NIEHS HDPTP 14-Year Training Summary for the Budget Period Aug. 1, 2005 – July 31, 2019
| Year | Total Courses | Total Workers | Total Contact Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 508 | 6,385 | 79,189 |
| 2007 | 653 | 9,095 | 99,623 |
| 2008 | 787 | 11,628 | 123,984 |
| 2009 | 701 | 12,267 | 111,772 |
| 2010 | 655 | 9,251 | 95,297 |
| 2011 | 660 | 8,870 | 85,348 |
| 2012 | 684 | 9,327 | 94,096 |
| 2013 | 825 | 12,465 | 112,668 |
| 2014 | 935 | 12,984 | 128,070 |
| 2015 | 899 | 12,953 | 145,699 |
| 2016 | 784 | 12,550 | 109,081 |
| 2017 | 839 | 12,238 | 127,783 |
| 2018 | 1,141 | 17,354 | 154,333 |
| 2019 | 1,284 | 18,660 | 174,131 |
| Total | 11,355 | 166,027 | 1,641,074 |
NIEHS IDRT 3-Year Training Summary for the Budget Period June 1, 2016 – May 31, 2019
| Year | Total Courses | Total Workers | Total Contact Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 374 | 7,051 | 32,619 |
| 2018 | 691 | 15,886 | 58,220 |
| 2019 | 640 | 12,803 | 54,479 |
| Total | 1,705 | 35,740 | 145,318 |
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