The clean energy industry is booming. And companies need more licensed electricians who can install solar panels, electric vehicle chargers, battery storage, and more.
Vaughan Woodruff is director of workforce development at New England-based ReVision Energy. He says the workforce needs to grow quickly in size and diversity.
“We need more women involved. We need more representatives from communities of color involved. We need folks with disabilities, and veterans, and across the board,” Woodruff says.
But many people cannot afford to stop working to take outside training programs, or they have family commitments that conflict with classes.
So the apprenticeship program at ReVision Energy’s Training Center is designed to lower these barriers. ReVision employees receive paid on-the-job training, classes scheduled around their work, and online lessons to take at their convenience.
“And the ability for them to find the time that works best, which oftentimes is weekends or evenings, to be able to do this content is huge,” Woodruff says.
So more flexible training can help ensure that there are enough qualified workers to meet the growing demand for clean energy.
Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media