Maryland is confronting a shortage in environmental health professionals as demand for their expertise continues to rise. A new apprenticeship program offers solutions to grow and diversify the pipeline of those protecting our food, water, and air.
Environmental health specialists play a critical role in keeping communities safe, protecting the public from health threats by ensuring clean water, safe food, and healthy environments. But across Maryland and the nation, these professionals are in increasingly short supply. As the demand for their expertise grows, local governments face mounting challenges in recruiting and retaining the workforce needed to safeguard public health.
In a press release from the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), a new apprenticeship program aims to strengthen Maryland’s environmental health workforce while opening accessible career pathways for aspiring professionals. The Department, in partnership with Morgan State University (MSU) and the Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC), has launched the Environmental Health Specialist Apprenticeship Program. The apprenticeship will combine classroom learning with hands-on experience in local health departments across the state. The program, approved by the Maryland Department of Labor, is designed to prepare participants for licensure as Registered Environmental Health Specialists/Sanitarians. Apprentices will gain real-world training in water safety, vector control, and waste management while completing relevant academic coursework through MSU’s College of Interdisciplinary and Continuing Studies.
Counties play a vital role in supporting public health infrastructure, and this initiative helps ensure a steady pipeline of qualified environmental health professionals to serve communities statewide. Apprentices will rotate through local health departments during their training, building local knowledge, relationships, and long-term workforce capacity.
Key benefits of the program from the press release include:
- Tuition assistance for all program-related coursework
- Hands-on training in water safety, disease vector control, and soil and waste management
- Flexible learning environment
- Career path to licensure and long-term employment in the environmental health field
To be eligible, applicants must be 18 or older, have 60+ college credits in a relevant field, and commit to both classroom and fieldwork training.
