It might seem a daunting task for US employers keen to foster a talent pipeline in the flourishing solar sub-sector of the renewable energy industry.
That’s where a registered apprenticeship program (RAP) comes in, an approach clean energy sector employers have typically underutilized. They’re the gold standard of the time-tested earn-and-learn apprenticeships and have the Biden Administration’s strong endorsement. ApprenticeshipsUSA describes RAPs as offering high-quality pathways for employers to nurture and prep their future workforces.
These programs are industry-vetted and approved, plus have earned approval and validation from the Department of Labor or a State Apprenticeship Agency. RAPs are based on what employers need to ensure quality and success and give graduate apprentices the chance to obtain portable, nationally recognized credentials within their industry.
The growth in employment in the renewable energy sector is a global phenomenon. By 2030, there will be 2.6M extra jobs in the power-generation sub-sector, a net job shift of 2.3M, says the World Economic Forum. Some of them may be in occupations that don’t yet exist. Hence, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has identified new apprenticeable occupations as having RAP potential, including:
Just 0.3 per cent of the US labor force are apprentices, according to the Urban Institute. That’s far below countries such as Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, where the figure is closer to two to three per cent.
The U.S. can do better, and RAPs are a robust way forward to create future workforces to help our society harness a more sustainable future through renewable energy.
And if you think internships are as good as apprenticeships – ponder this: not even six in 10 interns (paid or unpaid) who complete their program retain employment, whereas 94% of registered apprentices do. This highlights that registered apprenticeships offer a more structured pathway to long-term employment, providing hands-on training that aligns with industry needs. Therefore, they’re a more reliable route to job security (and employee loyalty) compared with internships.
This article shares two RAP use cases – a multi-state business and a one-state company – and reveals behind-the-scenes tips on how to go about setting up your very own RAP. The bottom line is you don’t need to re-invent the wheel nor go alone.
First, you’ll be able to tap into financial incentives (federal or state-level tax credits, grant programs or federal funding) as well as technical assistance. In June, the US Treasury released its final rules for tax breaks, training opportunities, fair wages, and company-union partnerships under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to help boost the clean energy economy.
Complying businesses can claim an increased credit equal to five times the base incentives. These tax credits are for projects that invest in utility-scale solar, battery-storage, wind, carbon-capture, and clean hydrogen projects. You can check out the Department of Labor’s interactive maps showing projects that could potentially earn tax credits.
To be eligible, registered apprenticeship programs must meet the IRA’s fair wage and RAP provisions, among others. It’s not just traditional trades in the solar industry such as solar installers, maintenance workers, electricians, and technicians, but roles in sales, project management, cyber security, IT, and more. All of which are apprenticeable through RAPs.
Another potential snag is that it can be onerous working through the hundreds of pages of government guidelines, policies, laws, and regulations to set up a RAP. These cover program design, worker protections, and other criteria. You can get a glimpse of them hhere.
But there are a couple of (legal) workarounds. For instance, the Department of Labor has already approved more than 1,000 registered apprenticeship occupations. Employers can use up to 75% of these existing standards and then customize the rest to their business needs. You can also tap into the free brains trust available to support your business or organization.
For example, an industry intermediary for employers is considering setting up a clean energy RAP. The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), steers the Apprenticeships in Clean Energy (ACE) Network. IREC is well-placed to be at the helm. It was set up in 1973 and leads the ‘Solar Ready Vets NetworkTM, a U.S. Department of Energy flagship workforce development program. My employer, IWSI America, a not-for-profit future workforce institute, is part of the ACE network, which comprises nine other organizations spanning the renewables industry, apprentice intermediary (us), as well as training and education providers.
The ACE Network offers free technical assistance to employers to design, register, roll out, and scale up RAPs in clean energy.
ACE develops and supports more than 2,500 apprenticeships. At least 50% of these will link people from underrepresented populations into meaningful and sustainable clean-energy careers. That’s important because it will help recalibrate how the U.S. offers and supports pathways to employment in the clean energy group sector.
The ACE network is one year into a five-year project and plenty of opportunities remain for employers to get involved to switch on to a cleaner future. It’s collaborating with employers, education providers, labor unions, community-based organizations, workforce intermediaries, and other stakeholders to ramp up to a solar. Each year, ACE will hold five or more Apprenticeship Accelerator events to support employers and other potential sponsors looking to develop and run RAPs.
As technology advances, so must renewable energy sector RAPs. That’s why there’s guidance on developing competency-based or hybrid programs giving employers the flexibility to adapt their work-based or externally delivered training. An extensive ACE Library is being built to share resources among partners. This will help standardize training across RAPs in the solar sub-sector, focusing on solar photovoltaic, energy storage, and energy-efficiency sectors.
Our country’s integrated, whole-of-economy approach to solar is stands as the shining light of the growing renewable energy sector. This approach is quite different than the country’s first foray into setting up a solar industry.
Canadian inventor George Cove invented solar panels early last century, according to the University of Oxford’s Dr Sugandha Srivastav. Cove patented his photovoltaic solar energy invention which generated enough electricity to power small household devices. He also stored the energy in a primitive battery.
However, there were allegations of skullduggery.
“George Cove was kidnapped and told to give up his patents and shut down his business. Contemporaries like Edison Electric were building out the power grid using coal-fired electricity and Standard Oil was consolidating its hold over the market by buying out any type of competitor at the time,” says Srivastav.
“Ruthless practices to drive out competitors were commonplace during this period of history.”
That was the death knell of Cove’s company. Elsewhere there were murmurs the kidnapping happened due to oil companies wanted to keep the focus on fossil fuels. Fast forward to the 1950s when Bell Labs invented the practical solar cell. You can check out Srivastav’s TEDx talk about the kidnapping. Interestingly, she also estimates that the cost of solar has decreased 99.6% since the mid-1970s.
And there’s a stronger back story. Solar is part of the renewable energy sector that will significantly contribute to the US supporting its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Before that, the goal is to reach net-zero emissions for energy generation by 2035.
Compared to other parts of the renewable energy sector, the solar sub-sector is the most labor-intensive and has the highest number of jobs.
Here’s how home-grown US companies are getting right behind those targets.
Freedom Forever, an innovative residential solar energy installer based in California, has secured U.S. Department of Labor approval to run RA programs in Maine and Texas early in 2024. More states will follow. “The company has enjoyed steady, responsible growth in the past year or two,” says Matthew Markham, Director of Electrical Applications.
Part of the company’s strategy is to continue expanding through its apprenticeship programs. Until now, those programs have been somewhat ad hoc, he says. Some of its apprentices are registered and take part in training with a third party, but in other states, they encounter fewer formal requirements.
Markham says: “We offer employees support to pursue training on their own and we would then reimburse them, but it can be tricky to track their progress or know how we can help them as they pace through their training.”
So, the company has taken a medium-to-long-range view to cultivate a talent pipeline throughout its branches, spanning 34 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.
But it’s not one program for all locations because each RAP must adhere to state requirements, whether a state is involved in approval, or a federal body. This is where employers new to RAP can trip up – customization is key.
Each RA program must be tailored to an employer’s needs as well as comply with the relevant state or federal apprenticeship office criteria, says Bill Kraus, a Registered Apprenticeship Expert with IWSI America, which helped Freedom Forever through the ACE Network.
“We helped them decode the apprenticeship requirements, develop standards, took their raw ingredients and transformed it into DOL language like ‘journey worker’ and ‘ratio’. Until you’re in the tent, you don’t know the jargon,” he says. “We also negotiated on their behalf with the Department of Labor. We crossed the ‘t’s and dotted the ‘i’s through the process and feel that helps streamline the process for them.”
From February 2024, IWSI and Freedom Forever worked “hand in glove” to develop the RAPs and gain approval.
Kraus has years of experience advising employers to set up their apprenticeship programs and points out common mistakes. For instance, employers can’t dictate that apprentices have their own car, but “must have reliable transportation”. Similarly, you can’t set a minimum essential job criteria for an employee to hold a driver’s license; rather, be explicit why so. For example, it’s acceptable to say you need that staff member to have a license to be able to drive a company vehicle. Employers should be transparent about the need for use and accessibility of accommodations to provide a safe working environment for all staff.
When Freedom Forever’s four-year RAPs are rolled out, the company will have greater visibility to track apprentices’ progress wherever they’re situated. It’s opted to partner with a third-party curriculum (Mike Holt Enterprises) and harness in-house technical instruction. Staff will partake in online training two evenings per week, in their own time so they can still do a full day’s work, a common practice in the industry. Freedom Forever will also set up hands-on training in its more than 30 buildings and warehouses across the nation.
Top quality is imperative because of Freedom Forever’s customer promise hinging upon a 25-year production guarantee on every residential system it installs. Markham says RAPs will “increase the sticky factor” for engaging staff – both employer and staff are making investments.
Freedom Forever will continue to refine its apprenticeships thanks to a cross-organizational team which meets weekly.
“A member of that team is from HR and actively recruits new staff via our partners with strong links to people who have been traditionally underrepresented in the solar industry. That includes Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), trade schools targeting women, solar and construction training programs located in underserved communities, workforce development centers, youth programs, as well as immigrant and refugee centers that help them successfully become part of our country’s workforce,” says Markham.
Over time, the company’s new apprenticeship system will expand with the company and industry. While Freedom Forever has focused on photovoltaic solar, Markham says, further considerations are batteries, EV chargers, heat pumps, and HVAC, as well as linking the smart home and vehicle. Maybe the company’s RAPs will incorporate virtual reality or augmented reality training, too, he says.
Meanwhile, a residential solar installer based in the Missouri town of Springfield is another newcomer to RAPs in the industry. Former U.S. Army electrician Bud Pierce set up his business, That Solar Company, which now employs 25 people.
The Department of Labor approved his RAP within two months of lodgment, he says. Pierce had help – from the Department, his state’s apprenticeship office, and IWSI America. Kraus says That Solar Company’s application was fast-tracked and gained access to incentive dollars thanks to IWSI’s guidance and putting Pierce in touch with key people in the apprenticeship system.
He acknowledges the process of developing a Registered Apprenticeship program was much easier than if he’d tried to do it alone.
“I couldn’t have created a RAP by myself. It’s always easier to deal with organizations that have experience. If I didn’t partner with IWSI and the state apprenticeship offices, this process would have taken a lot longer.”
Pierce expects to have 20 or more active apprentices on staff by late 2028. He’s also using Mike Holt’s curriculum, and where possible, virtual theoretical classes, saying the program is akin to having an electrical major, plus a solar minor.
The college degree analogy is a good fit because electricians in the solar industry don’t just place and plug panels on a roof. His staff also do commercial and residential jobs for solar panels, panel upgrades, and battery and electrical vehicle chargers.
“The industry should move beyond having unqualified people doing electrical installations. It's crucial to increase the availability of apprenticeship programs that teach digital skills to younger workers before a large portion of the older workforce retires. We must teach the next generation how to do this trade properly,” Pierce says.
The common thread in both Freedom Forever and That Solar Company's cases is that employers don't have to navigate the RAP development and approval process alone. By collaborating with others, such as through the ACE Network, employers can learn from shared experiences and create more effective future-ready RAPs.
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Deborah Williamson, Vice President, IWSI America, has extensive experience in juvenile delinquency, apprenticeship, and education policy. Beginning her career at the Kentucky Court of Justice, Williamson earned a Ph.D. in sociology, specializing in crime and deviance, before transitioning to workforce development. She now oversees impactful youth-serving projects in conjunction with the Urban Institute and California Department of Rehabilitation. Williamson holds a technical degree in natural resources from Hocking College and has received a national award from the Global Releaf Program at the American Forestry Association for her work in developing Target Green, a program for juvenile offenders. She also received Environmental Administrator of the Year from the Kentucky Association of Environmental Education.
