Utah — AES, a global energy company accelerating the future of energy and a leading developer of utility-scale solar generation, has collaborated with Solar Energy International (SEI), a leading solar training educational non-profit, announcing today their new partnership to provide solar workforce development services in Utah. The partnership includes two elements: a scholarship fund for individuals, and consulting services for colleges and universities. Both aspects aim to stimulate local participation in the Utah clean energy industry through professional development and eventual entry into the solar energy workforce.

The Scholarship
The AES-funded scholarship will award financial assistance in the form of tuition fees for Utah residents to enroll in SEI’s North America Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) PV Associates online training package, which includes PVOL101 and PVOL203 online classes along with NABCEP PV Associate testing. By empowering soon-to-be solar energy experts with the necessary training, the scholarship will help strengthen and build the growing Utah solar workforce.

Consulting Services
In addition to the scholarship program, the partnership provides SEI consulting services to help local colleges and universities develop or upgrade their solar workforce training programs, bolstering their ability to provide students with industry-leading, safe, and relevant solar education.

“With a 30-year history of providing solar training, SEI supports scholarship recipients and educational institutions in building a strong foundation for careers in solar,” said Elizabeth Sanderson, SEI’s Executive Director. “We look forward to supporting AES’s local and national goals by offering world-class solar educational training to the next generation solar workforce. These corporate partnerships really help the industry positively impact regional communities and reduce barriers-to-entry in the clean energy workforce where people live and work.” 

From the date AES scholarships are awarded, recipients will have entrance into SEI’s online campus, where they can access their training from anywhere in the world to learn solar energy technology concepts, engage with online instructors and classmates, and prepare themselves for their vital role in the solar industry. Utah universities and colleges chosen to receive consulting services will work closely with SEI Instructors and curriculum developers to create or advance solar training programs that align with their educational mission and the workforce development needs of the industry. 

“Utah is my home, and this partnership with SEI is important to me because it will create opportunity for people in the state and the communities we live in,” says Leo Moreno, President of AES Clean Energy. “Achieving our clean energy goals requires that we invest in building a larger, well-trained clean energy workforce to meet the increasing demand for renewable energy. The AES-funded Scholarship and this workforce development program help meet this need while also providing a model for other states seeking to develop their clean energy workforces to support the accelerating transition to clean energy.”

If you are a Utah resident and would like to apply for an AES-funded scholarship, visit: www.solarenergy.org/scholarship-funds

If you are representing, or working on behalf of, a Utah-based university or college and would like to apply for consulting and career services scholarship support, please email Will White at: [email protected]