Solar Living Institute Offers Green Job Training
Preparing At-Risk Young Adults for Green Careers in California
Jun 1, 2009
It's no surprise that the Solar Living Institute has embarked on a program to train at-risk young adults in green technologies. For over 10 years, the Institute has been providing hands-on training in solar photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal, alternative fuels, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and green building.
Located in Hopland, California, the Solar Living Institute is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to promote sustainable living through environmental education. In fact, they're one of the few organizations in the U.S. already providing solar technical training to a broad and diverse population.
So it's only natural they would offer green job training to at-risk young adults in California. Not only does such a program increase the skill base of the participants, but it also adds to the job pool of Californians with the training necessary to meet head-on the state's environmental challenges, both now and into the future.
California's Need for Green Professionals
There won't be a shortage of green jobs in California any time soon, based on the projections of the Natural Resources Defense Council. According to their estimates, between 52,000 and 114,000 green jobs will be created by 2010, with a corresponding $11.2 billion to $25.3 billion in annual revenue. Moreover, the University of California at Berkeley estimates that the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 will itself lead to 83,000 new green jobs by 2010.
And recent findings by the San Francisco Bay and Greater Silicon Valley Centers of Excellence concur with these projections. They predict that solar firms in the Bay Area will add 17% to their workforce next year alone, resulting in 1200 new jobs. Indeed, the need for skilled professionals in the solar industry has never been more acute.
However, employers at these firms also believe that they will run into difficulty filling these positions. Yet this difficulty comes at the same time many communities face another challenge: They're economically depressed - with high unemployment and few opportunities.
According to Les Welsh, a development consultant working with the Solar Living Institute, "The convergence of these multiple crises, which are causing immense hardship in the community, has also created a tremendous opportunity – to provide at-risk urban youth with the tools to gain meaningful jobs with upward mobility, while participating in the greening of their community."
Solar Living Institute's Green Career Training
To make the most of this opportunity, the Solar Living Institute is offering a regularly occurring 8-week training program geared toward at-risk and underserved young adults. The program will prepare participants for a career in emerging green technologies.
Welsh states that students will gain "a broad understanding of various environmental issues affecting their community, a background in the soft skills necessary for career development, and comprehensive training on the technical aspects of PV and solar thermal, energy efficiency and weatherization, biofuels, green building, and electric vehicles."
The training will include classroom instruction, hands-on activities, and field trips. Students will learn specific job skills and how to use the tools common to the trade. By the end of the program, participants will be prepared to take on entry-level jobs within a related green industry.
In fact, the Solar Living Institute has already met with success in serving marginalized communities with a high minority population. In a collaborative effort with non-profit and government agencies in Richmond, California, the Solar Living Institute trained 75 Richmond minority residents aged 18-35 for careers as solar installers.
According to Welsh, "At least eight of the students have secured full-time employment in the solar industry and dozens more have gained valuable experience as temporary workers with local solar installation companies."
To be sure, the program accomplishes the two essential goals set out by the Solar Living Institute: Increase the job pool for positions in green industries, and increase the skill base of young adults with severe economic challenges. Indeed, the Solar Living Institute is setting the standard for how to take California into the future.
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