Monday, January 12th was a big day at Solar Energy International (SEI).  Not only for the fact that it was our first day of online courses for the 2015 calendar year, but available student spots for our online courses are almost completely full!  With over 200 students starting courses this week, it is exciting to see how many people are hungry for technical training in solar energy technologies for solar installers, engineers, designers, and many other technical positions in the solar industry.

The demographics of our online students for this session range from total newbies wanting to enter the solar industry to seasoned veterans who have been working in the solar and electrical trades for decades.   Students from all over the United States and all over the world are diving into the solar industry’s leading technical training curriculum being taught by some of the most knowledgeable and experienced instructors who are also actively working in the solar industry.

Out of curiosity, we reached out to some of our students to ask why they chose to register for SEI’s technical training.  Here are some examples of the driving force behind their choice of SEI:

“I did a lot of research of what school I should attend for professional solar installer training and the more I dug around on the Internet, the more I realized that SEI has been offering this level of training much longer than any other training option available.  I knew if I wanted to be the best – I needed to learn from the best.”

“I went to the InterSolar Conference in San Francisco last year and asked many of the vendors and people I met at the various booths to find out what school they thought was a respected institution.   Almost without exception, every finger pointed to SEI’s booth.   When I visited their booth, I found out that they were also selected as one of the main training providers for the conference and has trained more NABCEP certified professionals than any other training organization in the industry.”

“My boss attended SEI years ago when he was first getting started in the solar industry and has been going back to SEI to get continuing education hours whenever he can.   During my interview, he asked where I had gotten my technical training and if hired, would I be willing to go through SEI’s Solar Professionals Certificate Program.   Most of my experiences have been OJT working in the construction industry so I really needed some formal education.  I am really looking forward to completing this program to really push my career forward in this industry.”

“I am currently a Peace Corp Volunteer working in South America.  The area in which I am working is looking to deploy solar PV to help with the electrification of schools and homes.  SEI offers one of the only technical training programs I could find in both English and Spanish which will help me greatly in my efforts.  I have already used knowledge gained through my SEI classes on some small lighting projects which is earning the respect from the people I am here to help.”

Session after session – month after month – and year after year – we hear stories like these that make our non-profit educational work so fulfilling to know we are making a difference.  If you would like to join the SEI family of students and alumni – make sure to check out our 2015 training schedule:  https://www.solarenergy.org/training-schedule/ or call 970-527-7657 x1 to speak with our Student Services Department.  We are here to serve you!