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The Department of Energy is providing a grant for solar energy training
in a coalition of schools led by the Houston Community College system.
The
solar installation curriculum for consortium partners - community
colleges and vocational high schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma,
New Mexico and Texas - is designed by Ontility, a provider of green
technology training. The grant, funded by the DOE and the American
Reinvestment and Recovery Act, provides $3.57 million over five years.
"[The
company] is proud and excited to be the sole industry partner in the
South-Central Consortium," Ontility CEO Tom Pash said. Pash cited the
DOE's desire to standardize solar training curricula as a reason for
choosing Ontility.
Clean-energy research firm Clean Edge
suggests in a CNN article that green tech will be "the greatest
opportunity for wealth and job creation since the advent of computers
and the Internet." By 2030, the American Solar Energy Society
estimates, 40 million American jobs will directly or indirectly involve
energy conservation.
In order for that to happen, though,
members of the workforce must be educated about green energy
technologies. Scaling up the solar energy workforce, says Pash, will
help ensure the green future of the economy.
SOURCE: Cooler Planet
