The University of California San Diego (UCSD) has received a $1 million federal grant to train and protect workers involved in hurricane recovery activities in Guam.
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded the Susan Harwood Training Grant to the university’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Training Institute Education Center to train the workers who are helping rebuild the island after it was hit by devastating hurricanes over the past couple months.
“Clean-up efforts have been difficult due to the remote Pacific Rim locations, and there has been a deficiency of financial and skilled resources to dedicate to this challenging, life-threatening situation,” Stephanie Spann, associate director of OSHA said.
“The Susan Harwood Training Grant will allow us to help the residents of Guam prepare for, and address, any natural disasters that come their way in the – hopefully, distant – future.”
The three-week long training, slated to start on February 9, will teach employers, employees, contractors, volunteers and first responders how to deal with natural calamities based on real-life experiences.
The university is also planning to build a network with officials in Guam, non-profit organizations, radio shows and others to better provide assistance and information to locals.
This is not the first time the UCSD has participated in natural disaster relief efforts. Over the past 15 years, the university has organized many free OSHA-authorized and occupational safety and health trainings in Guam as well.
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