State jobs program offers green for ‘green’ training Read more: State jobs program offers green for ‘green’ training - Business First of Columbus
Tipping Point Renewable Energy CEO Eric Zimmer has more than a passing interest in a state program that will provide $6 million to train workers for green energy careers.
With two solar energy projects under contract and more in the works, Dublin-based Tipping Point will need to connect with qualified workers in the months ahead – and possibly for the long haul – as part of an expected boom in renewable energy projects in Ohio.
“There are tremendous opportunities to get a lot of people back to work,” said Zimmer, who founded Tipping Point, a solar energy project development business, a year and a half ago.
Zimmer said he is looking to apply for money fromthe state ’s Energizing Careers program. Funded by a federal stimulus grant, the program was launched June 17 by the Strickland administration to help companies train employees for the growing green energy sector. That includes retraining workers at manufacturing companies shifting to the production of components for the wind, solar and biomass industries.
State legislators have been pinning much of Ohio’s hopes for economic recovery on green energy. In 2008, they passed a bill requiring Ohio electric utilities to generate at least 25 percent of their power by 2025 from advanced energy sources, with at least half of that coming from renewable sources such as wind and solar.
Ohio also has tradesmen such as electricians and roofers with skills that transfer easily to solar panel installation work, Zimmer said. It is another matter, however, when it comes to finding designers of solar projects, he said, noting Tipping Point had to hire an engineer from California for its projects here.
“That’s not a skill set in Ohio,” Zimmer said, “because there hasn’t been more than a few megawatts of solar (power) installed at this point. But the industry is ready to take off here.”
Among the challenges facing would-be solar installers in Ohio is securing certification to work on projects receiving state funding and incentives, said Rick Herman, project manager for solar and wind at Woolpert Inc., a Dayton-based engineering firm with an office in Columbus. They must have worked on three solar installations before they can take the certification test, he said, but it is difficult to get hired without the certification.
“A lot of folks are interested in getting into it,” he said, “but there’s a bit of a learning curve.”
Herman thinks many jobs will be created by green energy in Ohio – from earth-moving and concrete work on wind-farm projects to making components for wind turbines and solar panels in factories. There also will be jobs that require expertise, such as washing gigantic windmill blades and maintaining solar arrays.
“That work force doesn’t exist now in Ohio,” he said, adding the retraining program being launched bythe state is a “great move.”
With two solar energy projects under contract and more in the works, Dublin-based Tipping Point will need to connect with qualified workers in the months ahead – and possibly for the long haul – as part of an expected boom in renewable energy projects in Ohio.
“There are tremendous opportunities to get a lot of people back to work,” said Zimmer, who founded Tipping Point, a solar energy project development business, a year and a half ago.
Zimmer said he is looking to apply for money from
State legislators have been pinning much of Ohio’s hopes for economic recovery on green energy. In 2008, they passed a bill requiring Ohio electric utilities to generate at least 25 percent of their power by 2025 from advanced energy sources, with at least half of that coming from renewable sources such as wind and solar.
Certification hurdle
Zimmer said Energizing Careers may fit with Tipping Point’s Solar by Soldiers program that trains military veterans for solar installation jobs and hopes to put them on a path to engineering and design jobs in the field.Ohio also has tradesmen such as electricians and roofers with skills that transfer easily to solar panel installation work, Zimmer said. It is another matter, however, when it comes to finding designers of solar projects, he said, noting Tipping Point had to hire an engineer from California for its projects here.
“That’s not a skill set in Ohio,” Zimmer said, “because there hasn’t been more than a few megawatts of solar (power) installed at this point. But the industry is ready to take off here.”
Among the challenges facing would-be solar installers in Ohio is securing certification to work on projects receiving state funding and incentives, said Rick Herman, project manager for solar and wind at Woolpert Inc., a Dayton-based engineering firm with an office in Columbus. They must have worked on three solar installations before they can take the certification test, he said, but it is difficult to get hired without the certification.
“A lot of folks are interested in getting into it,” he said, “but there’s a bit of a learning curve.”
Herman thinks many jobs will be created by green energy in Ohio – from earth-moving and concrete work on wind-farm projects to making components for wind turbines and solar panels in factories. There also will be jobs that require expertise, such as washing gigantic windmill blades and maintaining solar arrays.
“That work force doesn’t exist now in Ohio,” he said, adding the retraining program being launched by
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