Staunton, VA, June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ten high school students have begun apprenticeships as solar installers through an innovative parternship to establish a home-grown solar power industry in the coalfield region of Southwest Virginia. The apprentices just completed an intensive course of classroom training and have now moved on to installing rooftop solar on their public schools in Lee and Wise counties. At the conclusion of the program, based on demand, qualifying graduates will be offered permanent positions based locally.
The apprenticeship program is part of an economic development initiative called Securing Solar for Southwest, a partnership that includes two solar power companies – Secure Futures Solar, a commercial solar developer based in Staunton, VA and GOT Electric, a solar engineering, construction and procurement company based in Harrisonburg, VA – along with Mountain Empire Community College based in Big Stone Gap, VA.
“For students interested in careers in energy technology, it has been difficult in the past to see the value of pursuing training in emerging technologies like solar power because it wasn’t clear that work in the field would be available in the local area,” said Kristin Westover, president of Mountain Empire Community College. “This program is different because it offers the prospect of careers that are based right in Southwest Virginia.”
At the end of May, students from Career and Technical Centers in both…
