Those who have served in our Military have
excellent training in leadership and organization and management
and often in technical arenas that are relevant to
service in the energy sector. Solar Ready Vets is a program
that the Department of Energy has developed to provide training to
our active duty service members who are transitioning off of active duty into
civilian life again. The solar industry is one of the fastest growing industries
in our economy, so we know that there are opportunities for
our veterans to be employed in a meaningful role in that industry.
After 12 1/2 years of service with nemorous deployments under my belt
it was my time, and I had to go. I thoroughly enjoyed
myself in the Marine Corps, it was a great stepping stone
for the rest of my career and the rest of my life. Going from something that you
know and have been doing for over decade to going to
the civilian world. Going from structure to uncertainty it is
a little but stressful. I never gave solar energy
any thought. I didn't know anything about the solar industry. I had no idea how big it would be.
The Solar Ready Vets program is a long enough program
that we can give somebody a complete overview of the industry.
We are teaching to make an excellent graduate that's going to be
able to go into any piece of this industry and be a value add.
The whole course was challenging. There was a lot of material crammed
into 5 week. We learned everything from site survey to installation
to safety. We were taught in the classroom, and then we went outside
and we practiced it. So that brought everything together for all of us
whether you were a book learner, or a hands on type person.
We need to make sure they are comfortable dealing with the racking structures.
The photovoltaic modules themselves, as well as the extremely technical
testing equipment. You actually need to go out there and get sweaty, be on a roof.
Somebody that has that experience, not only knows how to install
solar, but they now know how to manage solar.
They may never pick up a tool again, some of these veterans, their leadership. But they need to
understand how hard it is for those guys to pick up the tools, and how hard it is
to work with a really cold wrench in 5 degree weather. Anybody
can come to this course. Any Vet, any rank. The solar industry is an extremely
diversified field. There are positions from your bottom level
installers, to electricians, to sales people, to marketing
and logistics to manufacturing. So there is a place for everybody to fit in
and there are different opportunities to take advantage of.
We only only want to teach them the basics of the solar industry, but we have a resume writing session.
We have a job interview session. They're coming out as a
complete package. We received Job interviews with the
top 5 solar companies in the industry. All of us, the whole
class. Today I work in the solar industry as a
safety and quality coach. I love the fact that I can go
around and ensure that people are being safe.
That is very fulfilling to me.
So the first few classes that we have graduated have been tremendously
successful. Everybody who came out of the program has had a number of
job offers. And that's given us the sense that
we can do more with this program. It even caught the attention of the President of the United States.
And he asked us to grow the program. So we are now going to be working on 10 military bases to
provide this training. What makes this program really great is that we are providing the training while
they're on active duty before they leave the service,and at no cost to the
active duty service member. Training our troops, and making sure they have a direct
opportunity to transition the day they leave! That's so exciting!
The clean energy revolution is now, the solar revolution is now.
1 out of 80 new jobs created last year were in the solar industry.
We are just getting started. It is very important for me
to not only have a job, but a career. And a career means I can
rest easy at nighttime. It means I can create a better life or provide a better life,
and a living for my family. Without the Solar Ready Vets
program I defiantly would not be here, and I am very grateful