Online Program

277129
NJ Jobs4Vets: Training, employment, and quality of life


Sunday, November 3, 2013

Mitchel Rosen, PhD, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ
Audrey Gotsch, DrPH, MCHES, UMDNJ-School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ
The primary aim of NJ Jobs4Vets is to provide training for under-employed or unemployed military veterans in areas of employment associated with environmental remediation and restoration, disaster preparedness, and construction. The training program is consistent with the occupational safety and health objectives of Healthy People 2020, reducing deaths from work-related injuries and reducing nonfatal work-related injuries. The NJ Jobs4Vets Program recruited 25 veterans and enrolled 17 under-employed and unemployed veterans to participate in the six-week training program. The UMDNJ-School of Public Health and the NY District Council of Carpenters conducted the program, with funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Worker Education and Training Program. The curriculum included training in hazardous waste, asbestos, lead, disaster preparedness, mold remediation, and construction. This presentation will describe the program, including the process to develop the training curriculum, outreach to the military veterans, and to employers. The key component of the program is the connection to jobs for program graduates. This program was successful in gaining employment for the trainees.

Learning Areas:

Occupational health and safety
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Describe the value of job training programs in occupational safety and health. Identify impacts of job training programs on unemployed military veterans. List key features f training programs that can be replicated in other training environments.

Keyword(s): Occupational Safety, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been providing safety and health training for various populations for 25 years. I have conducted outreach to employers for over 15 years. I am the Director of the Office of Public Health Practice at the Rutgers School of Public Health. I am the Center Manager of the NIEHS Hazardous Waste Program, Director of the NIOSH ERC CE and Outreach Programs, and the Director of the Atlantic OSHA Education Center.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.