Job Training

Colorado Politics - Denver’s underprivileged see the light in Solar Training Academy

GRID Alternatives Colorado and the Denver Housing Authority, along with local energy businesses such as Namaste, have partnered to establish a Solar Training Academy to help meet the skilled employment demands of Colorado’s growing solar energy sector. Perhaps more importantly, they are recruiting talent from Denver’s underprivileged communities.

Staff Spotlight: Meet James Walker!
Welcome to our July installment of our Staff Spotlight feature, where we share a brief interview to introduce you to some of our amazing staff members here at GRID Bay Area! This month, we are introducing you to our SolarCorps Outreach Fellow, James Walker! James brings enthusiasm and passion to everything he works on, which is part of what made him stand out as a GRID intern before joining our staff. James's SolarCorps year of service combines his interests in foreign languages with his passions for addressing wealth inequality and climate change.

Leaders in Energy - Connecting Individuals to Solar Jobs

How does someone get a job in the solar energy industry? 90% of employers in the Mid-Atlantic area find it either somewhat or very difficult to hire qualified individuals, according to The Solar Foundation’s 2017 Solar Jobs Census. And solar jobs pay well; an installer job pays on average $20 an hour. So how do we bridge the gap between inexperience and jobs? The answer – job training.

GRID Intern Finds Developing Skills Quite Rewarding
After I started my first year at the University of California, Riverside the question: “So Brandon, what are you going to do with that?” became a frequent topic of conversation at every family gathering, social outing, and networking opportunity. Telling someone that I was a Spanish major never impressed people the same way that Chemical Engineering or Economics did. I wanted to use my talents as a marketer and graphic designer and somehow incorporate my major into a communications related field.

Job training workshops are underway in Illinois
In mid-June, 10 trainees climbed onto a roof to install solar for the first time. It marked a special day for GRID in Illinois: the culmination of an eight-week training, combining Lutheran Services of Southern Illinois’ (LSSI) Employment Skills School and a GRID Alternatives solar installation bootcamp, aimed at helping individuals who were formerly incarcerated start careers in the renewable energy field.

Solar Jobs and Second Chances internship provides new hope for returning citizens
“I had no idea when GRID showed up at my residence that I would be selected for an opportunity that could change my life,” said Sequarier McCoy. When we installed solar for A New Way of Life, a nonprofit that provides services to formerly incarcerated women, Sequarier, a resident there, was curious about all the commotion outside.