Job trainees looking to enter the green economy of solar installation often face two major barriers - lack of experience, and difficulty getting a "foot in the door" with employers in the current job market. GRID Alternatives partners with dozens of workforce development organizations throughout California to address these barriers.

We provide local job training programs with a "classroom in the field" on actual solar installations, where their trainees can gain hands-on experience under the training and supervision of our experienced solar installation staff. We also help these students get their foot in the door with local solar companies through our SASH Subcontractor Partnership Program.   

Timothy Simon is both a California Public Utilities Commissioner and a member of the California Green Collar Jobs Council, which is tasked with understanding and developing a comprehensive strategy to prepare California’s workforce to meet the needs of the Green/Clean economy. He said that  "GRID Alternatives has done a fantastic job in making these policy goals a reality by incorporating workforce development in green collar job training in solar installations." 

GRID Alternatives' workforce development partners include JobTrain, Applied Professional Training, South Bay Workforce Investment Board, Solar Richmond/RichmondBUILD, Proteus Inc., Oakland Green Jobs Corps/Laney College, IBEW Local 100, California Conservation Corps, LA CAUSA YouthBuild, California State University-Fresno and many others.

Kevin Raithlopez is a young military veteran who connected with GRID Alternatives through Laney College and the Oakland Green Jobs Corps. Kevin is seeking to become a certified solar installer, which requires a substantial amount of on-site solar installation experience. “As a student, it has been hard for me to get experience in order to gain my certification. GRID Alternatives was kind of a big break for me to gain the on-site work that I need.”