The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is granting a US college $192,300 (£124,680) to recruit, train and place workers in the green industry.

The St. Louis Community College (STLCC) will help 69 unemployed or underemployed students obtain full-time sustainable work.

Graduates of the programme have to complete a six-week course and receive 224 hours of core training in environmental job skills.

The college has trained 310 programme graduates since its first grant; 75% of these whom have been placed in local “in-demand” positions, which range from hazardous waste remediation to construction and safety to stormwater management.

They also include ecological restoration and lead and asbestos abatement at brownfields remediation projects, earning average hourly wages of $15.70 (£10.21).

EPA Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus said EPA grant applicants are reviewed in three ways.

He explained: “We consider the likelihood of graduates obtaining employment; we also support projects backed by strong public-private partnerships and projects with diverse community-based organisation and employer involvement.”

Nationwide, more than 13,800 individuals have completed training and of those, more than 10,000 have secured employment in environmental fields.