Green Solar Academy – a provider of professional solar training in Africa – is running a Women’s Month campaign that aims to position women as the ideal candidates to fill certain roles in the solar industry where employers are having trouble finding suitable staff.
In years gone by, the academy has endeavoured to reach women directly, but considering that its network of installers – and the industry itself – is most likely 90% male, it has decided to task the men with unearthing the hidden gems in their midst: a colleague, a daughter, a wife or friend who would be brilliant in a PV (photovoltaic) business.
With a series of articles and career portraits, Green Solar Academy wants to get the message out there that solar is about far more than installation and shed some light on the variety of jobs that are available in solar and the fact that women bring a different energy and talent for certain tasks in the PV industry that can add real value to any business.
Far from taking jobs away from their male colleagues, women can and do fill the gaps where employers are struggling to find the right person for the task, for instance in finance, system design, management and sales. They also have a high potential to increase the overall effectiveness of a company, simply by widening the perspective and adding a different point of view during negotiations and sales talks.
To support women to join the industry, Green Solar Academy offers a variety of enticing incentives during Women’s Month:
• Women get 30% off any course booked and paid for during August. The discount applies on all courses until December – people can choose the dates and venue that suit them.
• Any man who books along with a female partner will also get 30% off the price of that course.
The discounts apply to training across the board, from the internationally-recognised SuperSolarSchool foundation course to the advanced Commercial PV System Designer course and the new PV Financing course.
There are also tempting prizes on offer in the Hidden Gems Challenge for the man (or woman) who encourages the most women to sign up for a course in August. Prizes include a free SuperSolarSchool participation or a 1-year PV*SOL Premium licence worth over R24 000. The winner will be announced at the beginning of September. People can enter the competition by referring one woman to a Green Solar Academy training and every additional referral increases the chances to win.
Green Solar Academy is encouraging everybody to proactively approach women to join the industry and would like to motivate many more to increase the impact. Share the Hidden Gems Challenge, join in and share your story about a gem that you found in order to bring more women than ever into the solar industry.
The prizes to reward active referrals include:
• Two SuperSolarSchool courses valued at R12 500 excluding VAT per person – sponsored by emerce and Jinko Solar.
• A 1-year PV*SOL Premium licence from Valentin Software worth over R24 000.
• 10 online vouchers for the emerce online marketplace.
• Victron Energy-branded merchandise.
• Two combiner boxes sponsored by Fronius.
• Two SMA-branded goodie hampers.
Keep an eye on the Green Solar Academy social media channels (#womeninsolar, #hiddengems, #womensday, #greenwomensday) and visit the website for more information: https://solar-training.org/womens-day-2021/
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