A Different Shade of Green
The
New York State Department of Labor has awarded more than $317,000 to Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County to provide green job training to 120 veterans, many of them veterans with disabilities. This job-training program, entitled
A Different Shade of Green, will give low-income, unemployed veterans ages 18-65, the necessary skills to seek employment in environmentally sustainable fields.
CCE Onondaga will lead the
Different Shade of Green program as the administrator of the grant, and will work in close collaboration with the Onondaga County Veterans Service Agency; the Syracuse VA Medical Center's Vocational Rehabilitation Program; the Veterans Services representatives of the CNY Works-One-Stop Career Center;
Onondaga Community College, and other post-secondary institutions in New York State.
A Different Shade of Green is designed to offer a green-focused, preparatory, work readiness program for 120 low-income, unemployed veterans, at least 30% of whom have been classified as disabled. The program will consist of ten-week training sessions, followed by month-long field training programs, which will provide veterans with hands-on experience with green projects in the community, including projects in areas of Syracuse experiencing persistent poverty. Veterans will receive training in basic skills for work readiness, preparation for post-secondary study, and field training in rural and urban agriculture, food supply and distribution, environmental technology, renewable energy and other "green" topics of study. Participants will also gain enhanced career preparation skills in budgeting, computing, interviewing and resume building that will enable them to seek immediate entry into the green sector or other areas of the workforce. Participation in this program can result in a National Work Readiness Credential and several recognized industry-wide occupational certificates. To supplement the training program, CCE Onondaga and its partners are planning a Green Jobs Career Fair for veterans in the Central New York region.
For more information about this program contact
Cindy Roberson-VanLaningham at 315-424-9485 x228 (cmr267@cornell.edu) or
Ken Scott at 315-424-9485 x241 (
kjs268@cornell.edu).
Resources
For a list of resources for veterans and their families click here.
Program Schedule
The Different Shade of Green training program will be offered 4 times throughout 2010. You can only register for one session. Each classroom training session is 10 weeks long, followed by a 4-week long internship/field training experience. You must be classified as low-income and unemployed to participate in this program.
Session 1
February 1, 2010 – April 9, 2010 Class
April 12, 2010 – May 7, 2010 Field Experience
Session 2
April 26, 2010 – July 2, 2010 Class
July 6, 2010 – July 30, 2010 Field Experience
Session 3
July 6, 2010 – September 10, 2010 Class
September 13, 2010 – October 8, 2010 Field Experience
Session 4
September 7, 2010 – November 12, 2010 Class
November 15, 2010 – December 10, 2010 Field Experience
To formally register for this training program, please contact your veterans representatives at
CNY Works:
Bill Burns: 315-477-6908
Curriculum
You can view a detailed description of the
curriculum and the
class schedule for this program. If you are having difficulty accessing these PDF documents, please contact
Cynthia Roberson-VanLaningham at 315-424-9485 x228. For a program brochure,
click here.
Program Sponsors
Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County would like to thank our
Different Shade of Green program sponsors for their generous support.
Success Stories