Importance of Training for Employers

How can solar employers connect to effective training for current employers or candidates with no previous training or experience?

Finding qualified candidates for job openings and honing their knowledge, skills, and abilities over time is difficult in many industries, but the solar industry faces unique challenges. These include rapidly-evolving policy and market conditions playing out across 18,000 local jurisdictions, 3,000 utilities, and over 50 territories and states, as well as a bounty of changing hardware and technology requirements. 

Quality training can save companies money. Additional site visits to correct residential installation errors may cost solar companies thousands of dollars.  If improved training procedures could lead to a small decrease in the rate of call-backs, it could save the solar industry millions per year.¹

There are a multitude of ways that training increases the success of a company.  Research has found that training and advancement for incumbent workers includes the following benefits: 

• Driving increased employee satisfaction. When employees can access advancement pathways within a company, it shows that the organization wants to invest in their employees.
• Reducing turnover. Investing in employee training and upskilling while also presenting advancement opportunities keeps employees engaged, making them want to stay at the company that invested in them. 
• Encouraging teamwork. Whether employees are participating in a safety training or learning how to use a new product, training promotes working as a team. 
• Improving productivity and reducing production errors. Training can teach employees how to do their work in a safer, more efficient manner, increasing productivity while also making the workplace safer and preventing injury. 
• Saving money. By reducing errors, employers have less of a chance of having to send in a service team or remake a product. 
• Promoting Career Pathways. By presenting clear advancement opportunities, and the training necessary to get there, employers make it clear they want employees to stay at the company and that there is room to grow. 

How to Find Training

Green Workforce Connect

Finding local training providers is a great way to connect to skilled employees and a possible route to support incumbent worker training or upskilling. Use the Connect Now page to explore hundreds of solar and energy efficiency training providers in your area. Training providers include community colleges, nonprofits, four-year colleges, employer-run apprenticeship programs, and more. The list of training providers can be narrowed down by specific tags such as solar energy, North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP)-registered, or higher education, making it easier for job seekers and employers to find exactly what they are looking for. 

Local Workforce Development Boards 

Local Workforce Development Boards have funding available for various kinds of training, especially for the high-demand, high-wage jobs that are prevalent in the solar industry. To qualify for funding, training must be linked to in-demand occupations, informed by the performance of relevant training providers, and coordinated with other sources of assistance. Learn more about “Local Workforce Boards: Your Key to Recruitment and Retention.”  

Workforce boards can support training for unemployed or underemployed workers as well as incumbent workers at a solar company. In both cases, workforce boards can incorporate work-based learning. 

Work-Based Learning

Whether through formal internships and apprenticeships, short term project-based experience, or on-the-job training, work-based learning (WBL) is a key element of workforce development. The ability to apply practical skills on the job is a key part of career readiness, and work-based learning ensures that graduates and trainees are ready to immediately meet workforce needs. 

Learn more about work based learning in our resource here.

IREC-Accredited Training Providers

For over a decade, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has provided nationally recognized and industry-backed accreditation and certification for clean energy training programs and professionals. IREC credentials are a mark of excellence, recognized nationally for their rigorous standards. They assure students, employers, and funders that the training is high quality and meets industry demands. Learn more about IREC credentials and how to apply.

Some IREC-credentialed programs support training for those entering the solar industry, while others provide training to participants in the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which supports energy efficiency upgrades for low-income households. Browse a directory of IREC-accredited programs on Green Workforce Connect. 

For More Information

Find more tips and resources for clean energy employers on Green Workforce Connect.

 ¹Solar Training and Hiring Insights: A Solar Training Network Research Report, The Solar Foundation (April 2017), https://irecusa.org/resources/solar-training-and-hiring-insights/.