“I got a job at a local fast food restaurant, but I was looking for a career path,” said Cody Couch. He discovered that career path during a GRID Alternatives installation that took place on his family’s roof. Cody had no experience but under the guidance of GRID volunteer Team Leaders and staff, he was able to participate in putting together railings that hold the solar panels on the roof.
Seeing the confidence of the Team leaders and how motivated the other volunteers were, Cody was excited to learn more about the solar industry. He did some research and was surprised to find out (from the recent Solar Foundation report) that the industry is growing at about 20% this year! So he enrolled in the “Photovoltaic Principles and Applications” course at College of the Desert’s Desert Energy Enterprise Center in Palm Springs and is currently awaiting his NABCEP score.
The College of the Desert course delivers the theory for students to take the NABCEP Entry-Level Exam and the opportunity to apply the skills learned in class to real-life solar installations through a partnership with GRID. The hands-on experience is essential for landing jobs in the solar industry! The job trainees also have an opportunity to become GRID Team Leaders where they can help manage the Ground Team or Roof Team. The experience as Team Leaders help meet the installation requirements needed for the NABCEP PV Installer Certification Exam.
Cody recently completed his first day as a GRID volunteer where he is continuing the hands-on job training that first inspired him to get into the industry. He volunteers along like-minded individuals that are sharpening their knowledge and skills, and even professionals that just want to give back to the community. Through his studies at COD and his training experience with GRID, Cody hopes to become a solar designer.
A few of the successful participants of the COD and GRID partnership are: Francisco Duran, now a Western Operations Director at Anatone Corp.; Andy Lesher, Project Coordinator at Pedersen-Dean Roofing & Solar; Brian Davidson, Construction Manager at Hot Purple Energy; Tyler Kaban, Solar Technician at Renova Solar; and Francisco Rosas, an independent Solar Designer.
In a few weeks, GRID Inland Empire’s largest fundraiser and awareness event of the year, Solarthon, will take place on April 6 – 11, 2015 in Desert Hot Springs. This year’s focus is on workforce development and job training, and we’ll be featuring job trainees and partnerships like that with COD, that help bridge the gap from the classroom to the field. If you would like to learn more about Solarthon or even sponsor a job- trainee, please visit GRID IE's Solarthon page.