Victor Valley College's Construction Technology - Photovoltaic Solar Technician Program teaches students the knowledge and skills needed to enter this fast-growing industry. This year, California will add over 10,000 solar workers!! Victor Valley College's Construction Technology Department hosts a highly successful Solar Hiring Conference each semester for students achieving a grade of 80% or better.”

1. Introduction to
Victor Valley College’s
Photovoltaic Technician
Program

2. What is VVC’s Photovoltaic
(PV) Technician Program?
• CT-148/144 is a 6-unit class that teaches PV theory, electrical
skills, and the installation skills necessary to enter the Solar
Industry.
• A Solar Hiring Conference is hosted by VVC on the last week
of the course
• Typically, 6-8 companies attend. They are looking to hire.
• 80% of students are hired within 4 weeks of completing the class.
• There is a LOT of Math and Reading required for this class!
• Recommended (not required) course preparation:
• CT-107 or 108: Technical Math
• CT-120A Residential Wiring
• CT-142 Renewable Energy

3. A Good Thing
Happened at VVC
Construction Tech’s
Solar Technician
Program
It’s about landing the
first job and starting
your career!
Freddy, 19 years-old, graduated from our first class in
October 2013. This is a picture of him landing a job
with REC (now Sun Run) at our first Hiring
Conference. He has since promoted to lead installer.

4. Employment Opportunities
• Solar Job Census 2013 Reports:
• 142,000 U.S. solar workers in 2013
• California:
• 10,340 added in 2014!!
• 57,523 Solar Jobs in 2014
• #1 State for solar jobs
• Projected to grow 20% each year
• Solar Installation is most common solar job and is expected to
grow 25-30% a year.
• Bottomline: Solar is a significant, and growing career field
• California: #1 Solar Jobs!

5. Employment Opportunities
• Residential PV Systems: installed on
homes, apartments, etc
• Non-Residential/Commercial PV
Systems: installed at schools,
businesses, and military installations
• Utilities: Large systems, different
installation techniques due to project
scale.

6. Employment Opportunities
• U.S. Residential, Non-Residential, and Utility
Installation Growth rose rapidly in recent years!
U.S. installations are growing at about 40% each year!! Q3 and Q4 of 2014 is not
yet posted, but is expected to be HUGE! 2015 and 2016 are projected to see
continued explosive growth of PV

7. California Projections
Notice the Residential market in BLUE continues its rapid growth!!

8. Employment Opportunities-
WHY is Solar growing?
• Typical Residential system: 3KW, or 3,000 Watts
• 2011:
• $6.30 per Watt, installed
• 3,000 Watts: $18,900
• 2012:
• $5.10 per Watt, installed
• 3,000 Watts: $15,300
• 2013:
• $3.92 per Watt, installed
• 3,000 Watts: $11,760
• Financing combined with lower installation costs results in payments
that are less than Edison bills
• Result: It’s cheaper to go PV than it is to continue paying an electric
bill
• Result: PV installations are increasing rapidly!!

9. CA Statistics by County
• San Bernardino county
and surrounding
counties are amongst
the top 10 counties in
the top state for PV
solar installation
• California has superb
sun!!
• Over 50% of solar is
installed in CA!!
Us!!

10. Completed PV Projects
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2010 2011 2012 2013* projected
Apple Valley
29
115
180
348
Our area is seeing the same trend: Rapid growth in Rooftop Solar!!

11. Employment Opportunities
• Solar Job Census 2013 Reports:
• 142,000 U.S. solar workers in 2013
• California:
• 10,340 added in 2014!!
• 57,523 Solar Jobs in 2014
• #1 State for solar jobs
• Projected to grow 20% each year
• Solar Installation is most common solar job
and is expected to grow 25-30% a year.
• Bottomline: Solar is a significant, and
growing career field
• California: #1 Solar Jobs!

12. Employment Opportunities
• Residential/Non-Residential PV Jobs:
• Entry-Level Installer:
• Job Duties:
• Attach panels
• Connect system components
• Wage Expectations:
• Starting: $26,000-$32,000 a year
• Experienced, supervising: $36,000-$50,000 a year

13. Employment Opportunities
• Residential/Non-Residential PV Jobs:
• System Designer: PV Experience with AutoCAD Training
• Job Duties:
• Calculate system needs and costs
• Select system components
• Draw installation plans and documents
• Wage Expectations:
• Starting: $32,000-$36,000 a year
• Experienced: $40,000-$60,000 a year

14. Employment Opportunities
• Residential/Non-Residential PV Jobs:
• Sales:
• Job Duties:
• Contact customers, generate leads
• Discuss system options/design with customers
• Close deals, sign contracts with customers
• Ensure customer satisfaction
• Wage Expectations:
• Starting: $35,000 a year and higher
• Experienced: $50,000 a year and higher

15. Employment Opportunities
• Residential/Non-Residential PV Jobs:
• Contractor:
• Job Duties:
• Oversee the business
• Supervise and manage personnel, work with customers
• Manage inventory, equipment, costs, and pricing
• Ensure compliance with state law, tax law, and building codes
• Market the business and ensure customer satisfaction
• Wage Expectations:
• Varies on business size and competency
• Can be $100,000 or higher

16. Employment Opportunity
• Photovoltaics is a growth industry
• Southern California is the largest PV market in the U.S.
• San Bernardino County and surrounding counties have the
highest number of PV installations
• PV jobs vary in:
• Wages
• Complexity
• Responsibility
• Education, experience, and initiative  Increased Income
• This program will allow you to move quickly up the ladder.

17. A Good Thing
Happened at VVC
Construction Tech’s
Solar Technician
Program
It’s about landing the
first job and starting
your career!
Freddy, 19 years-old, graduated from our first class in
October 2013. This is a picture of him landing a job
with REC (now Sun Run) at our first Hiring
Conference. He has since promoted to lead installer.

18. Feedback from our Partners:
• Run more classes --- the industry is exploding
• Develop a Solar Electrician Class
• We’d love to hire veterans

19. CT-148/144 PV Technician Program
160 hrs
Career Unit
8 hrs
Math Unit
12 hrs
PV Unit
60 hrs
Electrical Unit
28 hrs
Installation
36 hrs
NABCEP
Certification
6 hrs
Career Fair
(Start your career)
Safety Unit
10 hrs

20. What is NABCEP?
• North American Board of Certified
Energy Practitioners
• Voluntary national certification
programs that will:
• Promote renewable energy
• Provide value to Solar Installation
and Sales Professionals
• Promote worker safety and skill
• Promote consumer confidence
• Certifications include:
• PV Technical Sales
• Solar Water Heater Installer
• PV Installer

21. Career Unit – 8 hrs
• Student will be prepared to:
• Research job opportunities/career paths
• Pursue employment
• Interview for and land a job
• Succeed and promote quickly

22. Career Unit – 8 hrs
• The PLAN:
• First days of program:
• Introduce career path and the program
• Focus on success in the program/career path
• Understand the PV industry
• Last weeks of program:
• Write resumes
• Analyze jobs and winning attributes
• Prepare for interviews
• Utilize portfolio, resume, and interview skills to land a job
opportunity at the Career Fair

23. Math Unit – 12 hrs
• Student will be able to:
• Perform all of the math operations required in
the Photovoltaic Technician career field:
• Read/utilize a tape to 1/8 of an inch
• Work with lineal units and square units
• Understand metric units
• Solve word problems and problems that use
formulas
• Use order of operations properly
• Solve problems involving fractions, decimals and
percentages
• Solve problems using angles, Sine, Cosine, and
Tangent
• Understand latitude, longitude, magnetic and true
north, and be able to solve problems involving
those concepts.
• Take information from a table and correctly apply
to real-life problems.

24. Math Unit – 12 hrs
• The PLAN:
• First days of program:
• Math review
• Focus on basic math needed for early lessons
• Throughout program:
• Remove math difficulties as an obstacle to
understanding how PV and electricity work
• Teach/Review math necessary for other units
• Math embedded in the PV and Electrical Units
• Prepare you for the NABCEP Certification test

25. Photovoltaic Unit (60 hrs)
• Students will be able to describe in detail:
• Solar radiation and how Photovoltaic cells work to create
electricity
• The various designs of PV systems to meet the specific needs of
customers
• The function, maintenance, performance, and safety
considerations of batteries within a PV system.
• Students will be able to verify the electrical design of a PV
system from both a performance and safety perspective

26. Photovoltaic Unit (60 hrs)
• The PLAN:
• Early in the program:
• Describe the PV industry
• Describe how PV works
• Describe PV systems and components
• Middle of the program:
• Understand the flow of electrons throughout the system
• Be able to diagram the components, and their function, that are
necessary for the various types of PV systems
• Learn to perform the calculations to verify safe system design
requirements.
• Learn to perform the calculations to predict system performance and
to troubleshoot installed systems.
• Prepare you to install several systems in our lab

27. Electrical Unit (28 hrs)
• The student will be able to describe, diagram, and
solve problems associated with DC and AC
electrical circuits
• Ohm’s Law
• Electrical symbology
• AC/DC circuits
• Parallel/series circuits
• The student will be able to install electrical
equipment and components associated with a
Residential PV system, safely and in accordance
with building codes
• Load calculations
• Service panels and distributes
• Safety

28. Electrical Unit (28 hrs)
• The PLAN:
• Early in the program:
• Describe how DC and AC circuits work
• Understand and be able to perform the calculations needed to
describe PV system components, electrically.
• Middle of the program:
• Understand the flow of electrons throughout the system
• Be able to connect PV system components, safely, and verify their
proper functionality using meters.
• Be able to properly design and install various types of PV systems in
accordance with industry standards and building codes.
• Get you prepared to install!

29. System Installation Unit (36 hrs)
• Students will be able to describe the entire
life cycle of a PV project: selling, designing,
installing, and commissioning
• Students will design, install, and
commission PV systems in the lab:
• Utility-interactive shingle-roof mounted
• Utility-interactive tile-roof mounted
• Ground-mounted
• Stand-alone system

30. System Installation Unit (36 hrs)
• The PLAN:
• Latter Days of course:
• Culminating experience --- brings it all together
• Physically work in teams
• 2 instructors for 2 ½ weeks, opportunity to review material
• As real as we can make it.
• Really prepare you for the job!
• Excellent experience to prepare you for the NABCEP test

31. NABCEP Test Review (6 hrs)
• Students will be prepared to pass the NABCEP PV
Entry-Level Certification Test
• Wide-ranging test includes:
• Safety
• PV Industry and it’s history
• Solar radiation throughout the year and at different
latitudes
• Basic Electrical and PV principles
• Electrical safety and performance calculation
• System components and design
• Industry accepted installation practices
• Troubleshooting systems
• And much more
• You WILL be prepared! You WILL pass!!

32. Career Fair --- Last Day
• Students earning an 80% or above will be given the
opportunity to interview.
• You will have:
• The knowledge that you have worked to acquire
• The experience of four different installations
• Your portfolio
• Your resume and interview preparation
• The OPPORTUNITY to start a rewarding career in Photovoltaics
• We typically have have 6-8 companies lined-up. Historically,
80% of our students have jobs within 4 weeks of course
completion. 95% have jobs within 2 months.

33. CT-148/144 PV Technician Program
160 hrs
Career Unit
8 hrs
Math Unit
12 hrs
PV Unit
60 hrs
Electrical Unit
28 hrs
Installation
36 hrs
NABCEP
Certification
6 hrs
Career Fair
(Start your career)
Safety Unit
10 hrs

34. Summary
• This program is well thought out
• There are 7 areas of instruction intertwined and logically
sequenced to result in your:
• Deep understanding of Photovoltaics
• Readiness to land a position and promote quickly
• Pass the Entry Level NABCEP Certification Test
• Preparation for a career in the Photovoltaic industry.
• The goal of the program: Accelerate your PV career

35. Review
• What is the #1 state in the U.S. for PV installation?

36. Review
• What is the #1 state in the U.S. for PV installation?
• Answer: California
• #1 County: Los Angeles
• #2 County: San Diego
• #4 County : Riverside
• #6 County: Kern
• #7 County: San Bernardino

37. Review
• What is NABCEP?

38. Review
• What is NABCEP?
Answer: North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners
• Voluntary national certification programs that will:
• Promote renewable energy
• Provide value to Solar Installation and Sales Professionals
• Promote worker safety and skill
• Promote consumer confidence

39. Review
• What are the 7 areas that we will cover in the Program?

40. Review
• What are the 7 areas that we will cover in the Program?
Answer:
• Careers
• Math
• Photovoltaic Energy
• Electrical Theory
• Safety
• PV Installation
• NABCEP Certification Test Preparation
Career Fair at the end of the Program!!

41. Review
• Why are PV systems getting increasingly popular?

42. Review
• Why are PV systems getting increasingly popular?
• Answer: They are getting increasingly cheaper!!
FACT: With today’s financing, most homeowners can have an
installation paid for in 5-8 years with a lower monthly bill!!

43. Job Opportunity/Program
Questions?