The Greening of Detroit isn't just about growing and planting trees anymore. The Corktown-based nonprofit has started a workforce development program that is helping grow careers and planting displaced workers into solid jobs.
"It gives an individual a second-chance opportunity to succeed in life," says Devon Buskin, workforce development director for
Greening of Detroit. "We thought it was important to not only train individuals but to train them in a lucrative sector."
The Greening of Detroit’s workforce development program trains unemployed or under-employed Detroiters in landscaping, forestry and agriculture as part of a eight-week training program. The program is partially funded with a $200,000 grant from Bank of America.
More than half (71) of the 137 graduates of the program have found jobs. "I'd like to see us double the number of candidates in training (within the next year)," Buskin says.
Source: Devon Buskin, workforce development director for Greening of Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke
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