What Happens After Certification?

This is the final post in my lead safety series.

I started writing a few months ago because lead poisoning became personal for my family. My cousin’s son has lead poisoning, and I wanted to better understand how families end up dealing with a problem that is often hidden until it becomes a crisis.

Since then, I’ve spent time talking with contractors, workforce development professionals, community leaders, and people working in lead safety every day. I’ve attended meetings, completed training, and asked a lot of questions. One thing I didn’t expect was how much the experience would change me.

At the end of April, I completed my EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) certification. A few weeks later, I got a call from Mainline Services asking if I wanted to continue my training. That call stuck with me.

Over the past few months, I’ve met people who started with one training course and ended up building careers around this work. One of them is Jerome.

Jerome was actually the person who introduced me to Lianna Development. After going through their training, he became so passionate about the work that he now helps the company expand its reach and connect more people to these opportunities. After going through the training myself, I found myself having a similar reaction.

The more I learned, the less interested I became in certifications themselves and the more interested I became in what happens next.

As this series comes to an end, that’s the question I’m left with: How can I help be part of the solution?

Right now, I think that starts with helping connect more people to opportunities, supporting the pipeline programs already being built, and continuing to learn from the people doing the work every day.

This blog series is ending but the work continues.