Solar Workforce Program Spotlight: Passaic County Community College

When Passaic County Community College received a federal grant to launch a solar and renewable energy training program, they faced a challenge familiar to many workforce development initiatives: how do you build an effective program from scratch?

Three years later, the program has trained over 100 students through a blend of online learning, hands-on instruction, and employer partnerships – demonstrating that flexibility and community engagement are key to successful clean energy workforce development.

Starting with the Right Foundation

Janet Albrecht and Justin Conigliaro, who lead the program, knew they needed to move quickly when the grant was awarded. The college had just purchased a building that wasn’t yet ready for in-person training, curriculum needed development, and partnerships with New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) were still taking shape.

HeatSpring’s online platform provided the solution for getting started. “We needed startup time for the actual project,” Janet explains. “HeatSpring provided a way for us to start training. We could use the online platform.” The decision served multiple purposes: it allowed training to begin immediately, introduced students to online learning – an important skill in itself – and led directly to industry-recognized NABCEP credentials.

A Program That Evolved with Student Needs

What makes the Passaic County program notable is how it adapted over time. The training evolved from purely online to include:

• OSHA 10 certification (delivered remotely)
• Five-week in-person course with NJIT instructors and teaching assistants
• HeatSpring online coursework for NABCEP PVA preparation
• Work readiness training – added based on employer feedback
• Entrepreneurship skills course – incorporated after student surveys
• Hands-on training week with StepUp Solar nonprofit
• Job shadowing opportunities with employers like Schneider Electric

“We do have a lot of flexibility with this program because it’s not really a cookie cutter class,” Justin notes. The team regularly surveyed students and adjusted offerings accordingly. When they discovered many students were interested in starting their own businesses, they added entrepreneurship training. When employers emphasized the need for work-ready candidates, they built in soft skills development.

The Credentialing Path

The program emphasized NABCEP credentials from the start – and for good reason. “Solar is interesting because… if you don’t want to just do laborer work, if you’re trying to do something more, you need credentials to be able to do that work,” Justin explains.

Students who completed training earned multiple credentials and had the option to continue their education with an associate degree and beyond. This multi-pathway approach gave students three options: get trained and find work, continue education, or pursue both simultaneously.

Building Employer Partnerships

Connecting students with employment opportunities required extensive community outreach. The team established partnerships with local employers, including Schneider Electric, which provided regular job shadowing experiences. Each cohort dedicated a day to visiting Schneider’s work sites, where students saw different project stages, used drones for site assessment, and got hands-on roof experience. Schneider also provided personal protective equipment for the program.

The relationship with StepUp Solar brought intensive hands-on training that complemented the more technical coursework. These partnerships didn’t only provide learning opportunities. They helped the team understand what employers actually needed from candidates.

Building Confidence Through Hands-On Learning

One student’s experience illustrates the program’s impact. While much of the mathematics component was familiar to him, the coursework served as a valuable refresher that strengthened his confidence and reinforced key concepts he’d need in the field.

What made the biggest impression, though, was the hands-on training. Physically seeing how solar panels are installed and understanding what an average installer encounters daily made the learning feel practical and relevant. The combination of technical knowledge and real-world application prepared him not just to pass an exam, but to understand the actual work.

Lessons for Other Programs

When asked what advice they’d give to other institutions launching similar programs, Justin and Janet emphasized two critical elements:

Soft skills matter tremendously. In his conversations with employers, Justin found that work readiness was consistently at the top of their priority list. Work readiness training became a vital component of the Passaic County program because employers repeatedly stressed they needed candidates who were prepared for the workplace culture and expectations.

Industry credentials are essential in solar. Unlike some construction trades where OSHA certification alone can open doors, solar requires more specialized credentials. “With solar, credentialing is really important,” Justin notes. However, the specific credentials employers require can vary significantly between companies, making it important to maintain dialogue with multiple employers.

Looking Ahead

While the three-year federal grant has ended and a no-cost extension wasn’t approved – part of what appears to be a broader pattern affecting similar programs nationwide – the college hopes to continue offering training. Students may need to pay for future programs or secure funding through workforce development resources, but the foundation has been built.

“That’s the nice thing when you have funding – you can be really creative and try different things,” Janet reflects. The program used that flexibility to experiment with online and in-person formats, add new components based on feedback, and build an extensive network of partnerships.

The Passaic County program demonstrates that successful workforce development requires:

• Flexibility to adapt as you learn
• Strong employer partnerships to understand actual job requirements
• Multiple pathways to meet different student needs
• Combination of technical skills and work readiness training
• Industry-recognized credentials as the foundation

For other community colleges and workforce programs looking to enter the solar training space, Passaic County Community College offers a roadmap – one that emphasizes starting where you are, listening to stakeholders, and remaining flexible enough to evolve.