New Free Course – Smart Investments: Certifications and Licenses That Pay Off

Credentials cost time, money, and energy. Knowing which ones are actually worth it can make a real difference in your solar career.

HeatSpring is excited to host a new free course from Solar for Women: Smart Investments: Certifications and Licenses That Pay Off. Originally recorded as a live webinar, it’s been brought to HeatSpring so you can access it anytime. It’s the second installment in Solar for Women’s three-part webinar series delivering practical strategies for finding work, investing in the right credentials, and negotiating your worth in the solar trades.

What You’ll Learn

This one-hour course covers certifications and licensure with honest, field-tested perspective from three experienced professionals. You’ll come away understanding:

• The real difference between a certificate, a certification, and a license, and why it matters for how you present yourself to employers. 
• Why electrical licensure is increasingly considered the highest-value credential in solar, and how to start accruing hours toward it even if you’re early in your career. 
• How NABCEP certifications fit into the picture, including the full range of credentials from the entry-level PV Associate all the way through board certifications like the PVIP. 
• Which safety and adjacent credentials (OSHA 10/30, NFPA, FAA drone pilot, BPI) can complement your resume depending on your career focus. 
• How to evaluate potential employers based on their commitment to workforce development, apprenticeship support, and credential incentives.

Meet the Panelists

Amanda Bybee is the CEO of Amicus O&M Cooperative, a support network for companies doing field services across solar systems of all sizes. She has helped launch multiple cooperatives over her career and led the development of the new ANSI/SEIA 301 standard, a four-level technician framework designed to define and support solar O&M workforce development. Amanda brings a big-picture perspective on where the industry is headed and why trades credentials are more valuable than ever.

Jenny Conrardy is a journeyman electrician based in Wisconsin who completed a four-year apprenticeship program and holds her NABCEP PVIP certification, drone pilot license, OSHA 10 and 30, and CPR. She entered the trades as a single mom after a long career in sustainable agriculture and has since become an instructor with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. Jenny shares her firsthand experience navigating apprenticeship, finding the right mentorship, and how stacking credentials opened new doors.

And yes, I’m in this one too. I’m Brittany Heller, and I work at HeatSpring helping people find and complete quality technical training. I hold my NABCEP PVIP and spent years in workforce development at GRID Alternatives Colorado, where I led training programs and worked to make job training pay a living wage. In the course, I break down the full NABCEP credential landscape, highlight other certifications worth considering depending on your role, and share tips for evaluating employers based on how they actually invest in their people.

Who This Course Is For

This course is for anyone working in or entering the solar industry who wants a clearer picture of which credentials are worth pursuing and why. It’s free, self-paced, and available anytime.

Enroll for free in the Smart Investments: Certifications and Licenses That Pay Off.