Eight weeks of paid training. Seven certifications. A crew that has your back.

A Landforce Crew is six Crew Members and a crew leader working on parks, trails and green spaces across Allegheny County. You are paid from day one, earn credentials employers ask for, and work with our Workforce Development team on your own plan for what comes next.

Join the wait listWhat a season looks like
A crew member in a bright green Landforce shirt and white hard hat prunes a branch overhead with a pole tool

Paid from day one

Training and transitional employment are paid. This is a job with training built in, not a course.

Seven certifications

Eight weeks of training results in seven industry-recognized certifications that employers in land care, construction and green infrastructure recognize.

Your own plan

An individual Employment Action Plan, weekly SMART-goal meetings and dedicated time for job searching, interviews and applications.

A crew behind you

Six Crew Members and a crew leader. Four of today’s staff started on a crew, and three 2024 alumni were rehired in 2025.

What a season looks like

From orientation to your next job

  1. Before

    Wait list and application

    Join the wait list. When applications open, the Workforce Development team contacts you with dates and what to bring.

  2. Weeks 1–8

    Paid training

    Safety and trade credentials, communication and conflict resolution, financial literacy, mental health first aid and the “Bring Your A Game to Work” curriculum.

  3. May–November

    Paid transitional employment

    Real projects for real clients on a Land Stewardship crew, or at The Mill recovering and milling urban lumber. Training continues on the job.

  4. Throughout

    Coaching and planning

    Weekly SMART-goal meetings, résumé and cover letters, mock interviews with employer partners, benefits navigation.

  5. Season’s end

    Into your next job

    Dedicated job-search time and introductions to hiring partners. Landforce alumni stay connected, and some return as staff.

A smiling crew member in a green Landforce long-sleeve shirt, yellow hard hat and work gloves on a wooded trail

Credentials you train toward

Landforce staff hold and teach toward safety and trade credentials such as OSHA 10, First Aid/CPR/AED, Flagger, Tree Tender, Game of Logging chainsaw safety, forklift, National Green Infrastructure Certification and Pesticide/Herbicide Applicator. The seven certifications in your season are confirmed at orientation.

The 2025 cohort of 18 Crew Members earned 92 certificates between them.

A crew member in a green shirt cuts through a tangle of invasive vines with loppers A crew member pushes a wheelbarrow loaded with cut branches across a gravel lot on a residential street A crew member laughs on a wooded trail, yellow hard hat and green Landforce shirt
Eligibility

Who Landforce is for

Landforce supports Pittsburgh-area people who have been systematically excluded from career opportunities.

  • You live in Pittsburgh or the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the city, within Allegheny County.
  • You want meaningful, stable employment and are ready to work outdoors as part of a crew.
  • A criminal record, time in recovery, a mental-health diagnosis or a period without housing does not exclude you. Many Crew Members have been there.

Crew stories are told only with consent: those stories belong to Crew Members alone. Where Crew Members are now →

Questions Crew Members ask

Is this a job or a training program?
Both. Crew Members are paid from day one. The season begins with eight weeks of paid training that results in seven industry-recognized certifications, and training continues during paid transitional employment on a Land Stewardship crew or at The Mill.
Who is Landforce for?
People living in Pittsburgh and the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the city within Allegheny County who have been systematically excluded from career opportunities, including people returning from incarceration, in recovery, living with a mental-health diagnosis, un-housed or experiencing generational poverty. A criminal record does not disqualify you.
What does the work look like day to day?
Outdoor work in all weather on parks, trails, vacant lots, rain gardens and tree plantings across Allegheny County, in a crew of six Crew Members and a crew leader. Some Crew Members work at The Mill, recovering, milling and drying urban lumber.
How long is the season?
Crews are generally in the field May through November, and transitional employment now runs across the full 12 months of the year. Your Employment Action Plan sets your own timeline for moving into your next job.
What support is there beyond the work?
Weekly SMART-goal meetings, career coaching, résumé and cover-letter help, mock interviews with employer partners, financial literacy, mental health first aid, and help navigating benefits such as SNAP. More than half of the 2025 cohort received SNAP navigation support.
What happens at the end of the season?
The Workforce Development team works with you on job search and applications, with dedicated time built into the season. In 2024, 88% of finishers were offered employment within two weeks of the season’s end, and 100% who applied got at least one interview.
How do I apply?
Applications are not open right now. Join the wait list below and the Workforce Development team will contact you when the next application period opens. Joining the wait list is not an application for employment.
Can I refer someone?
Yes. Referral partners, case managers and employers can contact the Workforce Development team through the contact page. A dedicated referral form is part of the full site build.
Join the wait list

Be first to hear when applications open

Our application period is not currently live. Add your name and the Workforce Development team will contact you.

Joining the wait list is not an application for employment. It tells us you want to be contacted when the next application period opens.

Questions? 412-727-6936 · info@landforcepgh.org

Demo Submissions in this demo are stored privately and emailed to the build team; nothing is sent to Landforce or Salesforce.