GRID Alternatives Inland Empire (GRID IE) is answering the call to train the workforce for our growing clean energy economy. We’re building the Clean Tech Training Center (CTTC) at our Riverside facility! The ever-increasing clean energy industry needs clean energy workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, solar installer jobs alone are expected to grow 52% by 2030. GRID IE is centering equity, inclusion, and diversity in providing access to the careers of our clean energy future. Through these efforts, GRID IE envisions that the CTTC and our workforce programs will allow local job seekers to participate in our growing green energy economy equitably.
The CTTC will further GRID IE’s success with building EQUITY. We’re providing our job trainees with the experience they need to secure living-wage careers at no cost to them! GRID’s workforce training programs expose individuals to solar job opportunities that pay between $40,000 to $150,000 per year, based on Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) data. We’re addressing a root cause of poverty by providing opportunities for the IE community, including folks with higher barriers to employment, to benefit from our clean energy future equitably. GRID’s CTTC will help the local green workforce, their families, and the long-term economic resilience of our region.
GRID IE’s workforce development furthers INCLUSION. The CTTC will create a centralized, accessible training space where we can expand to serve people who may encounter limitations to participating in GRID’s traditional on-site solar installations. The CTTC will also benefit individuals who may face transportation challenges. GRID’s Solar Futures transitional youth participants, with hands-on installation training utilizing the CTTC’s mock roof and electrical labs. This new training facility will offer GRID’s program participants an added opportunity to practice in a controlled space and even engage new participants who may have been restricted from joining a GRID rooftop installation due to age limitations.
GRID IE advances DIVERSITY. We support people who may experience higher barriers to employment in clean energy careers, including women, justice-involved individuals, transitionally-housed, opportunity youth, black, indigenous, communities of color (BIPOC), and people who are unemployed or underemployed. GRID is working to uplift and connect clean energy career training for individuals representing our diverse communities.
GRID IE’s Clean Tech Training Center will increase our capacity to train and include more people. This facility will allow our team to provide hands-on training beyond our current installation projects in the field. GRID training can now happen on its efficient schedule and with greater flexibility. Through the buildout of the CTTC, GRID is positioned to increase collaboration with more programs and workforce partners. We’re looking to the future to incorporate new programs in electric vehicle service equipment and battery energy storage—building career pathways for our job trainees in emerging green energy careers.