Delivering training to affordable housing residents and Veterans.

As a newly formed company in a growing industry, Everyday Energy was in need of laborers to join their crew and assist with installations.

Following several discussions with the property owners and experts in the solar grant funding space, it became clear that there was an enormous opportunity to solve two challenges.

1. Everyday Energy needed crew members.
2. Many of the residents in the communities they served were eager to work and in need of a new skill. Additionally, many of the residents were veterans.

Solution

Everyday Energy’s leadership team asked if I would be willing to expand the marketing and event management work I was doing and lead the build-out of a workforce development program. I quickly accepted the opportunity to use my instructional design and sustainability expertise to direct these efforts.

I enlisted the help of energy efficiency and solar installation training expert, Brian Hurd of Hands-On Solar. Together, we developed a series of training courses on the basics of solar installation. The training program included classroom instruction, safety training, and hands-on installation work.

This program was recognized by the Obama Administration for providing workforce training to affordable housing communities. It also became a model and inspiration for the California Public Utilities Commission to require some level of resident training when projects receive state solar incentives. Everyday Energy’s solar courses further qualified as Community Development Activities under the Community Reinvestment Act.