William Carrr Blog

Thursday, July 28, 2016

SEI Alumni Highlight: Derek Mast – Commitment to Continuing Education

Screen Shot 2016-07-28 at 6.14.55 AM Derek Mast, a foreman for a large, multi-state solar company. Derek has been in the solar industry for a year and a half and before joining the solar industry, Derek was an electrician for six years. He is one of several dozen employees his company has sent to SEI for training. They put all new hires through SEI’s introductory class and some employees, through more advanced solar training. Derek joined SEI for PV 351L, a hands-on lab class covering tools and techniques for operation and maintenance of PV systems. The course is advanced training designed for solar professionals like Derek, who are already working in the PV industry who want to take their technical skills to the next level and gain hands-on experience with a wide range of advanced analytical tools and meters.

While Derek is an experienced electrician, he speaks to the need for training for everyone getting into the field. For himself, though he came from a strong technical background, he emphasizes the amount of knowledge and experience he needed to assimilate in order to fully understand the DC side of systems. And for anyone new to the field, he said “There’s a lot of stuff you don’t know that you don’t know you don’t know. Just getting some base level education is important. There’s a lot that can go wrong when you’re wiring up a solar system. And knowing how to install things well, figuring out what best practices and why they’re best practices is important as you’re learning your field.“

And why did his company send people to SEI for solar Installer training: “My company really values bringing their students a lot of education through SEI”. He added that training really adds to the company’s overall effectiveness, increasing their reliability and diagnostic ability. While he definitely believes in on the job training Derek said “I can teach people on the job but I’m going to miss stuff that the course will take them through.”He added that he really appreciated the shared experience of instructors who have been in the field for such a long time who can speak to scenarios and systems that you encounter much but will eventually need to in your career. But even for his co-workers that are not directly involved installs, Derek emphasized that “my company puts everyone through PV101 online. It just gives so much context to everyone, even if they’re in accounting… It really helps communication within the company.”

Derek is enjoying his transition into solar, intrigued by all he is learning and the quickly advancing technology in the industry. He is quick to share his knowledge with his crew and excited to encourage everyone in the field to continue to learn and evolve with industry.

The post SEI Alumni Highlight: Derek Mast – Commitment to Continuing Education appeared first on Solar Training - Solar Installer Training - Solar PV Installation Training - Solar Energy Courses - Renewable Energy Education - NABCEP - Solar Energy International (SEI).

from Solar Training – Solar Installer Training – Solar PV Installation Training – Solar Energy Courses – Renewable Energy Education – NABCEP – Solar Energy International (SEI) http://www.solarenergy.org/sei-alumni-highlight-derek-mast-commitment-continuing-education/
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Solar Installer Training Alumni Highlight: Jessica Wagner

Jessica Wagner – Bringing New Energy to a Historic Organization

As an applicant in SEI Solar Professionals Certificate Program, Jessica Wagner has been at SEI’s Training Facility in Paonia, Colorado for 6 weeks and she has impressed everyone with her passion and journey to get here. From the initial classes in Grid-Direct Design and Installation to the Advanced Multi-Mode Systems and energy storage technology, Jess has been engaged and diligent in her coursework and future career in the solar industry. Her interest in solar energy began early, intrigued by the PV modules atop her grandmother’s home, and leading to a third grade paper passionately declaring her intent to become an electrical engineer so she could install solar when she grew up. In fact, Jess did begin school to become an electrical engineer but there were some twists and turns in her journey to become a solar installer.

Sixteen years later, Jess is the mother of three children, living in Metamora, Illinois and bartending at the American Legion Post 1115. It was her job at the American Legion, among other things, that became a major impetus for her to begin her solar installer training. Jess witnessed daily the struggles for the Legion Post to stay open, their membership declined over the years while their expenses kept rising.

She began researching grants to help the legion and quickly found funding sources that utilized solar energy and the associated energy savings to support veterans programs. She knew this was a chance to make a lasting impact for the veterans she’d befriended at the Legion and to revive her long latent passion for solar energy. By beginning solar training, Jess could start a new career and work toward installing a PV system at the Legion, both to reduce their utility costs and (literally) bring some new energy to the organization.

Her choice of solar installer training provider was clear. Jess had been following SEI since 1998 and she didn’t hesitate to enroll. Her mother came from Florida to help care for her children while she travelled to SEI. Asked of her experience jumping into technical training after such a long break she said “I have a bit of an electrical/technical background, but SEI really meets you where you’re at. If you pay attention, you’ll get the knowledge that you need.” She added that she was thankful for the small class sizes and individualized attention as opposed to the huge “solar seminars” for 300 people she’d seen offered by other training providers. “The instructors are totally willing to stay after class to explain something in more detail or go over something in a different way to make sure you understand.” And of her instructors “the instructors are so knowledgeable… I’ve never seen teachers that are so qualified. They’ve been doing [solar] for years. They are in the field. This is their career.”

It was not only the instructors but the lab setting and small town location that drew her to Solar Energy International. About Paonia, Jess fervently recounts “I love it here! It’s a beautiful setting and there’s lots to do. It’s a mellow town where I can focus on my classwork and still go out in the evenings. Being in Paonia makes the learning experience really laid back.” Furthermore she’s had time to get to know her classmates, many of whom are also enrolled in the Solar Professionals Certificate Program. Though they are all enrolled in the same program, they are all coming from different backgrounds and places of experience. The classes and lab experience really allow them to share their knowledge on a peer level, where everyone can share their experience in construction, of previous solar installs, etc, in a really relatable way. Congratulations to Jess and fellow Certificate Track classmates and best of luck on the rest of your solar journeys.

The post Solar Installer Training Alumni Highlight: Jessica Wagner appeared first on Solar Training - Solar Installer Training - Solar PV Installation Training - Solar Energy Courses - Renewable Energy Education - NABCEP - Solar Energy International (SEI).

from Solar Training – Solar Installer Training – Solar PV Installation Training – Solar Energy Courses – Renewable Energy Education – NABCEP – Solar Energy International (SEI) http://www.solarenergy.org/solar-installer-training-alumni-highlight-jessica-wagner/
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SEI Solar Training Instructor Spotlight: Laura Conchelos

SEI Welcomes New Instructor: Laura Conchelos

laura_C SEI Alumni Laura Conchelos recently came back to Solar Energy International (SEI), this time as an instructor. Prior Laura to coming to SEI, Laura spent seven years doing seasonal construction work where gained some experience with solar electric systems while working on off-grid cabins in New Hampshire. Her experience is like the many others who come from a construction background, bringing the many transferable skills when they make their career transition or expansion into the solar industry.

It was a coworker in her former job that recommended SEI to Laura which eventually led to her enrollment in SEI’s solar PV training program. After she’d gotten a solid framework, it was SEI’s alumni and industry network that helped Laura land a job.

“My first job in the solar industry was in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Kathy Swartz (Executive Director of SEI) gave me the idea of the company to apply to. I did and spent the next three and a half years working there doing mostly grid-tied installations with a with a number of other installers who had also been trained by SEI”

Being on an install crew where everyone had received solar installation training made a huge difference in the quality of the work say Laura “The company I worked for was really focused on training, on bringing people in slowly and giving people a really well-rounded experience. We got training on the job but the installers and designers we had that had been trained previously came with a good solid background and definitely knew their way around the roof and and around tolls and also were very familiar with the safety protocols involved in working with solar.”

Laura has recently moved back to Colorado working as a NABCEP Certified Installer and teaching at SEI. Her experience with a company that emphasizes training had a marked impact on her commitment to ongoing education in the industry. “Even though I’ve I’ve been in the industry for a few years now I definitely think it’s important to keep taking training and finding out what’s new in the industry. And there’s a requirement for training when you’re NABCEP Certified to take a certain number of hours of training to recertify. Regardless of the certification however it’s important to keep up with changes in the industry and the National Electric Code and training is a good way to do that.”

SEI is proud to welcome Laura to the team. She just completed her first teaching job instructing PV101:Solar Electric Design & Installation (Grid-Direct) and PV201L: Solar Electric Lab Week (Grid-Direct).

The post SEI Solar Training Instructor Spotlight: Laura Conchelos appeared first on Solar Training - Solar Installer Training - Solar PV Installation Training - Solar Energy Courses - Renewable Energy Education - NABCEP - Solar Energy International (SEI).

from Solar Training – Solar Installer Training – Solar PV Installation Training – Solar Energy Courses – Renewable Energy Education – NABCEP – Solar Energy International (SEI) http://www.solarenergy.org/sei-solar-training-instructor-spotlight-laura-conchelos/
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