February 2022 Volume 4, Issue 10
Solar courses at Sauk Valley Community College offer bright opportunities
Sauk Valley Community College has begun to offer a new Solar Energy program. Any student with a particular interest in renewable energy or advancing their electronics degree can now branch into the new Solar Energy Technician Certification program at SVCC.
The Sauk valley area has seen a healthy development of opportunities for anyone with an interest in entering the workforce in green energy. Over the past year, the area has had a large growth in green energy job opportunities.
Jeff Johnson, the Multi-craft Instructor teaching the course, stated the certificate should be of interest to any student with an electronics degree to further the opportunities they have by building on to what the students learn during their degree courses. According to Johnson, the solar program can qualify students to begin a career as a photovoltaic installer or it can serve as a springboard for students to transfer to another college to advance their studies in photovoltaics.
The Solar Energy Technician Certificate is the program of study at Sauk Valley Community College that will prepare students for entering the solar energy workforce.
Green energy jobs have been on the rise in the Sauk valley and companies have been looking for applicants with formal training in photovoltaics. Moxie Solar, which has a branch located in Dixon, has been eagerly searching for new hires that have training in a solar degree program.
Johnson said, “We are really using them to model our program for what their needs are. We work closely with them.”
Johnson further explained that growth in solar will likely continue as other companies begin to supplement their electricity costs by adding solar.
The opportunity for green energy jobs will likely continue to increase as Johnson said, “According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the projected amount of solar capacity installed in Illinois in the next five years is supposed to grow by seventeen-hundred percent.”
Jeffery Johnson instructing his class at Sauk Valley Community College