On Thursday September 22nd, twelve solar job trainees came together with hiring managers from four solar companies at GRID's office in Denver. This "Meet the Solar Professionals" luncheon allowed job trainees to meet and talk to the hiring managers of a broad cross-section of solar employers in Colorado, from a four-person start-up to the largest residential solar company in the US.
The speakers came from SunRun, Namaste Solar, Production Solar, and a recruiter from Aerotek who works exclusively with energy companies. The event began with formal questions for each of the presenters about their company: They discussed company culture, the types of jobs they hire for, where they see the company in five years, and things that catch their eye or are a "red flag" when they are reviewing applications. The attendees then had time to ask additional questions in a group setting and finally some one-on one time with the presenters.
The event was designed to support GRID Colorado's outgoing Solarcorps members, who will be completing their term of service on October 7th, in their future careers. Also in attendence were the incoming class of Solarcorps and community job trainees who have been volunteering with GRID over the last year. GRID hopes to offer these type of networking opportunities to its job trainees at least once a year.