Burnin’ Daylight
The recent allocation of funds to support renewable energy technologies and research has set the green job industry all a flutter. And with good reason! The solar energy industry alone is expected to explode with an expected 400,000 job openings in 2009.
For blue-collar Americans struggling to find work and make ends meet on a daily basis, this is wonderful news. But I have to wonder, is the workforce really ready to meet this demand? Up until recently, solar system design and installation were skills an experience electrician or engineer just added to his resume, not career options. And now that the demand for these worker is expected to rise dramatically, I fear the supply of trained solar professionals will be scrambling to catch up.
Because I live in Colorado, fast becoming the country’s “renewable energy leader” (according to recent speeches and news coverage), I did a quick statewide search for “solar installation training” and “solar schools” just to see what would come up for say, an out of work electrician in Denver looking to shift careers.
The only real result I got was the Crestone Solar School in Crestone, Colorado (a small mountain community outside Pueblo). And, while the school does offer a foundation certificate course in a series of 4 – day residential classes in the summer months, it’s not exactly what you would call convenient for a major portion of Colorado’s workforce. Although I admire the school’s hands-on, holistic approach to solar training, many might find the $700 price tag a little high for the resultant certificate.
After a little more digging, I stumbled upon Boots on the Roof: A great site focused solely on meeting the needs of those seeking quality training in the solar energy industry.
Boots on the Roof is the Renewable Energy training division of Unitek, a long-running private school with a proven track record of certification-based and degree-based education programs in various technical and health care fields. Having successfully partnered with professional organizations nationwide to train tens of thousands of students, Unitek opened the Boots on the Roof division specifically to training the next generation of Solar Energy Entrepreneurs, Contractors, and Business People.
BOTR offers a small collection of tailored classes 2 – 6 days in length, focusing on everything from PV systems to solar water heating. And best of all, for those who may not have a contracting background (and who may find the trip and six day stay in Sunny Cali a little difficult to swing financially) BOTR also offers a soon-to-be-accredited Associates Degree in Renewable Energy. The great news? The majority of the program will be delivered through highly interactive online content, and supplemental lessons may be delivered through iPod Touch units provided to each student for free.
This is the type of “boot-camp” learning that will be needed to quicky prepare an entire workforce. I subscribed to their blog to get updates on the BOTR programs as they become available. Interested readers should definitely check out the web site to learn more, as the Associates Degree program will be filled on a first come, first served basis.
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