Ronnie Obra, Veteran of the U.S. Airforce, was working at an automobile assembly plant for nearly ten years when a restructuring of the business shuttered the plant – leaving 6,000 workers displaced, Ronnie included.
After a long search, Ronnie found his next venture: solar. He came across a job training program for military veterans – Swords to Plowshares. Their Veterans Green Career Pathway Program, in collaboration with Diablo Valley Community Colleges’ California Clean Energy Workforce Training Program, sparked his interest. GRID Alternatives Bay Area partners with both Diablo Valley College and Swords to Plowshares in order to provide hands-on training to supplement their programs. After Ronnie participated on a GRID install for his training in 2011, he began volunteering with GRID on his own.
After finishing the Swords to Plowshares training program, Ronnie found a year of employment with a start-up in solar technology interested in his background and hands-on experience. As it sometimes happens in the industry, the start-up buckled. Ronnie went back to the drawing board. As Ronnie explains, “This was okay by me because I really wasn’t interested in the manufacturing aspect as much as I was into the design and installation side of the industry.”
He came back to GRID – this time as a Solar Construction Intern. We asked for three months, three days a week. Ronnie came in five, sometimes six days a week and stayed longer than the three months. Ronnie says, “Although construction told me I didn’t need to be there that much, I told them that the more knowledge and experience I get the better prepared I am for future prospective employers.”
Sure enough Ronnie was hired as a Solar PV Installer at Verengo Solar – just before his unemployment insurance ran out. The job is treating our intern graduate well, and Ronnie says much of that is thanks to the over 100 volunteer hours he logged with us; attributing his GRID experience with safety, fall protection, power tools, and the knowledge of parts and materials as the leg-up over other applicants. Additionally, his solar training background got him a raise with just a month on the job! Ronnie shares, “Words cannot express how much gratitude I have for Ron, Jeff, Dave, Harry, Shamir, Bret, and Bruce as well as the rest of the GRID Family.”
There’s a Catch 22 for many people looking for work in the growing solar industry: they can’t get their first job without experience and they can’t gain experience without their first job. GRID’s volunteer and internship programs provide individuals an opportunity to bridge this gap. Contact our Volunteer Coordinator for details - volunteerba@gridalternatives.org