Pesticide training for farmworkers is free with Maui Economic Opportunity program

Called Worker Protection Standard Training, pesticide safety instruction required yearly for farmworkers is being offered free for agricultural operations statewide through a Maui Economic Opportunity program.

Agricultural operations throughout Hawai’i interested in the Worker Protection Standard Training through MEO’s National Farmworker Training Program may call (808) 344-5550 or email [email protected], according to a news release. There is no deadline to apply.

Worker Protection Standard training is approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration and covers pesticide safety, signs and symptoms of exposure and poisoning and emergency protocols.

Three MEO National Farmworker Training Program staffers have been certified to conduct the training at farm sites while providing all supplies. So far, trainings have been scheduled on Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island.

Federally-funded National Farmworker Training Program, which supports farms, farmworkers and farm families, is the only one operated by MEO that has a statewide reach.

For workers, the program aims to help generate greater economic stability by buying work clothes and other necessities and connecting farmworkers to job training, better opportunities and supportive services for themselves and their families.

For farms, it supports on-the-job training with subsidies and defrays the cost of required certifications, such as the Worker Protection Standard.