This pre-apprenticeship readiness (pre-ARP) program is a career pathway exclusively designed for Native American women wanting to join the photovoltaic (PV) industry as a solar installer.  The program is designed to reduce participation barriers by matching students with mentors, delivering intensive hands-on technical training led by women instructors, offering childcare stipends, aiding with job search skills, and creating a pathway to meaningful employment through job placement partnerships.

The core technical curriculum spans a five-week period of intensive classroom and hands-on training, during which students will learn marketable job skills. No prior experience is required to join this program. Classes will provide participants with an opportunity to practice using the tools of the trade and participate in hands-on exercises and ‘minilabs’ designed to develop and refine important worksite skills. Students will weave theoretical knowledge with practical application by practicing the installation of “mock PV systems” on campus before participating in an actual community-based installation.

Week 1 & 2 - Solar Fundamentals with Applied Workforce Training (August 12th-23rd): Learn how a solar electric system works and how to install it. This course combines classroom discussions with hands-on labs using tools, wiring electrical equipment, and implementing safe work practices.

Week 3 - Installation Skill Building (August 26th-30th):  Students will install three different live solar electric grid-direct systems at the RedCloud Renewable Energy Center.  For each rotation, students will complete a job hazard analysis, and then install, test, and commission the PV system.  

BREAK (September 2nd-13th)

Week 4 - Specialized Solar Training (September 16th-20th): This course features specialized topics such as OSHA safety, system design software, and energy storage.  

Week 5 - Install a residential system in the community (September 23rd-27th): The final week culminates with students conducting a residential PV site assessment on Pine Ridge Reservation. Participants will then design the mechanical and electrical layout of the system, develop a parts list, discuss permitting and regulations, and install the system with their instructors and classmates. 

Upon completing all five weeks, students will be given a set of tools and paired with a solar company for work in the solar industry.

Solar Fundamentals with Applied Workforce Training (2 weeks): Training will emphasize solar components, electrical terminology, system architectures, and applications of PV systems. Key content will include array configurations, mounting methods, inverter technology, wiring, overcurrent protection, grounding, and jobsite safety. Hands-on labs in small groups will directly follow lessons. For example, using tools and drills, safely moving and stacking modules, conduit bending, multiple racking and flashing types, PPE, and jobsite hazard analysis. Assessment and evaluation of each student will be conducted. 

Installation Skill Building (1 week): Hands-on training will be conducted on three different mock solar electric grid-direct systems to provide experience on common commercially available equipment. Key content will include microinverters and string inverters to allow for practice wiring different system configurations. At each rotation, students will complete a job hazard analysis, installation, testing, and commissioning of the system. Assessment and evaluation of each student will be conducted. 

Specialized Solar Training (1 week): Specialized training will include an OSHA 10-hour training, a spotlight on how to add energy storage to a system, and an introduction to system design software used for designing, selling, and delivering solar projects. Some students may decide to join the solar industry in another capacity other than being a full-time solar installer, and this training will introduce another pathway. 

Train While Installing (1 week): Hands-on installation practice will be provided, a missed component in most training programs, and critical for successfully developing marketable skills for working on a PV jobsite. Students will complete a real site assessment of a home on the Pine Ridge reservation to determine a full PV system design. Key components will include measuring the site, drawing the system layout, making a parts list of a full system, creating a bid for the “customer,” and installing the system. Each day will include time for individual hands-on skills evaluation.