SITN National Administrator

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Training today’s solar instructors to build a globally competitive solar energy workforce in the U.S.

From Maine to Hawaii, training the next generation of solar instructors is in high gear at nine of the most renowned solar training facilities in the U.S. Those nine training facilities, known officially as the Regional Training Providers (RTPs), and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC) make up the Solar Instruc- tor Training Network (SITN). Launched in 2009, the SITN is funded under The U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, a national collaborative to make solar cost-competitive with other forms of energy by reducing the cost of solar energy systems by about 75% by the end of the decade.

As a Network, the RTPs are training instructors at community colleges, technical high schools, and trade associations to build solar workforce capacity in solar system design, installation, sales and inspection.

Using a diverse but comprehensive educational approach — from online courses and open-source, Wiki-based platforms, to enhanced hands-on training, webinars, mobile training, and mentoring, each RTP’s solar training programs are attuned to regional needs and local conditions, yet crafted to build a robust and sustainable globally competitive solar energy workforce in the U.S.

As National Administrator, IREC facilitates and sup- ports the creation of a well-trained and highly-qualified solar energy workforce by working closely with the nine RTPs, teams of subject matter experts (SMEs), and stakeholders in a highly-coordinated effort. IREC serves as national point of contact for the SITN, and provides guidance and expertise to the RTPs while navigating the roadmap towards the development of a national framework for solar energy workforce development. The creation of a skilled workforce will improve the quality of solar products, ensure safe system installations, reduce costs, and increase consumer acceptance and product demand.

For more information, visit the SITN website.