Solar Landscape, a New Jersey developer, designer, installer and owner of commercial and community solar projects, has completed its first online Solar Jobs Training Program this week in partnership with Edison Job Corps, a career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that prepares 16 to 24 year-olds for employment and financial independence.
The Solar Landscape-sponsored program will be held on a rolling basis and provide participants with the required introductory technical skills needed for employment as solar installers as well as referrals from partner organizations to aid in immediate employment.
A total of 18 trainees completed the first program. Edison Job Corps and Solar Landscape will also be offering The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) PV Associate certification courses.
“We want to prepare our students for careers in this growing and beneficial industry and felt the need to be proactive in launching our program early given all that is happening throughout the world,” says Tony Staynings, work based learning coordinator at Edison Job Corps.
“Students will be able to progress at their own pace and speak with an instructor one-on-one with questions. We will closely monitor our student’s reaction to the training and are excited about the possibilities,” he adds.
The training program was initially planned for in-person instruction, but due to COVID-19 related stay-at-home directives, the two entities transitioned a portion to online instruction. The solar installer training program consists of 40 hours of online instruction followed by 40 hours of field training, to happen at a later date. The virtual classroom is designed to deliver the same curriculum as the in-person training and allows students to access the modules at any time.
“I loved it, it was very informative and a great opportunity to learn new information,” says Taya Criss, who completed the first training program. “I’m glad Solar Landscape has offered to train us and teach these elements of the solar industry and answer our questions. I definitely learned a lot and would do it again.”
Despite New Jersey installing a record number of solar projects in 2019, the state saw a decrease in industry jobs. The Solar Landscape training program aims to provide qualified, properly trained installers to not only aid in the local solar industry’s continued growth, but to also ensure safe, high-performing systems are built for New Jersey communities and energy users.
Photo: Solar Landscape installers work on putting up racking for modules on a commercial roof-top solar project