SEE

Senior Environmental Employment (SEE) Program

Created for Today’s Workforce
The Senior Environmental Employment (SEE) Program assists the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal, state, and local agencies in meeting their environmental mandates by using the talents and experience of workers 55 years of age and older.  Enrollees increase their technical skills, access new training opportunities, and take on meaningful tasks to contribute to the environment and to their own financial well-being.

History

In the 1970’s, farsighted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff recognized that experienced workers aged 55 and over were extremely underrated.  As a result, the EPA created the concept of what was to become a national showcase for the skills of mid-career and older professionals who are now acknowledged as major players in a rapidly aging society.

The concept turned into reality in 1975 when EPA assigned a group of individuals age 55 and over to a pesticide inventory project in Iowa.  A year later the EPA and the U.S. Administration of Aging funded a two-year demonstration project for workers to monitor industrial waste, conduct pesticide inventories, measure noise, air, and water pollution, and supply information to communities.

Recognized by Congress

During the 1970’s, and until 1984, national aging organizations carried out demonstration projects in each federal region and at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C. The success of the project created a demand for more experienced workers and won formal status when Congress approved, and President Reagan signed, the Environmental Programs Assistance Act of 1984 (PL  98-313.)  That law authorizes EPA to make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with private non-profit organizations to place individuals aged 55 and over in short-term assignments.

NAPCA’s SEE Program

NAPCA matches seasoned professionals with government agencies nationwide from three field offices: The Washington D.C. Project Office; the Region V Project Office in Chicago, IL, and the Region X Project Office in Seattle, WA.

Interagency Agreements

The SEE Program links federal, state, and local agencies with professionals 55 and over in administrative and support positions that range from clerical to scientific and field positions. EPA accepts funds through interagency agreements to provide Program participants, also known as enrollees, to assist with environmental activities or other government or state agencies.

 For more information about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, click here.