Striving to Success can be difficult without possessing “in demand” skills. The Greening of Detroit is hosting a green career/college fair for the Green Corps youth employees to encourage and introduce them to “green collar” jobs in civil engineering, environmental engineering, urban planning, landscaping, urban agriculture, urban forestry, and other opportunities. The fair is Thursday, July 9, 2015 from 9 am – 2 pm at Southeastern High School, 3030 Fairview, Detroit, MI 48214.
The Greening hires 100 – 180 Detroit high school kids each summer to maintain the trees, parks, and gardens we plant. They water, prune, weed, harvest, and participate in various conservation projects and environmental stewardship adventures. They earn a paycheck and learn responsibility. Most of all, we try to connect them with careers and opportunities in the Green industry.
Last year, 21 Green Corps seniors enrolled in college and 91 percent received partial and/or full scholarships.
Interview opportunities are available with Devon Buskin, director of Workforce Development, The Greening of Detroit, and youth who participated in last year’s Career fair and are now in college.
Recently, Greening of Detroit helped spark new careers for 17 graduates of The Greening of Detroit’s Adult Workforce training program. For some, it was the first time in their lives they have graduated from an educational program. The ceremony commemorated their dedication to understanding and utilizing green skills the Michigan Green Industry Association deems necessary for environmental work. All 17 graduates have secured employment.
Created in 2009 through a “Pathways out of Poverty” grant from the federal government, the Adult Workforce development program is designed to provide unemployed residents of Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck with valuable job training and certification in the green industry. Many participants have barriers to employment, such as a criminal record, substance abuse issues, low skill level, etc.
In 2014, The Greening’s program became a federally accredited apprenticeship program. Participants are trained for jobs in landscaping, forestry, and agriculture. The primary components of the program include:
- Landscape plan-reading and estimating
- Turf installation and maintenance
- Plants and plantings
- Tree & shrub maintenance
- Irrigation systems
- Landscape equipment and safety protocal
- MIOSHA certification and First Aid training
- Chauffeur’s license training
Each training session is eight weeks, 36 hours per week, and includes a half-day of job readiness training in each week. Upon completion of the training program, participants have the opportunity to take the Landscape Industry Certification (LIC) exam.
For more information about The Greening of Detroit’s Workforce Development program, call Devon Buskin, director of Workforce Development, at 313-285-2239.
About The Greening of Detroit
The Greening of Detroit is a nonprofit environmental agency inspiring “sustainable growth of a healthy urban community through trees, green spaces, food, education, training, and job opportunities.” For more information, please visit www.greeningofdetroit.com.
This program is funded by DESC, Quicken Loans, Bank of America, Comerica bank, PNC bank, Lunchtime Global, and Lowes.
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