- 2023 marks the third year in a row that GREEN Solar Academy is running its Women’s Month Campaign, which aims to position women as the ideal candidates to fill certain roles in the solar industry where employers are having trouble finding suitable staff.
- They call it the HIDDEN GEMS Challenge
- I am challenging all men in the solar PV industry to nominate and sponsor a woman to do one of the many different solar PV training courses that the GREENSolar academy offers.
- There is a course from entry level to advanced level and everything in between.
- There is also a 20% discount thrown into the deal.
The motivation is to encourage as many women as possible to consider a career in renewable energy, starting with a training course from GREEN Solar Academy.
Considering that the solar network of installers in South Africa and the rest of the continent is over 90% male, I am appealing to you to identify the HIDDEN GEMS in your midst: a colleague, daughter, partner or friend who would be brilliant in a PV business.
Different energy, unique talents
Women bring a different energy and talent for a variety of tasks in the PV industry that can add real value to any business … so why not a solar business? Far from taking jobs away from their male colleagues, women often fill the gaps in roles that possibly aren’t being done as effectively by their male counterparts, or where employers are struggling to find the right person for the task, for instance in finance, system design, and sales.
We need to get the message to the women in your networks that solar is about more than just the physical installation and shed some light on the variety of jobs that are available in solar.
A good balance is needed in an industry that relies on communication with clients and clear client administration. Clients are diverse, the tasks are diverse and so you should have a diverse team that will help you to excel in every field.
According to research by Korn Ferry, a global organisation advisory firm, women can more effectively display competencies that correlate with leadership and management, and score higher on emotional intelligence competencies.
Opportunity experts, networking professionals
This is because women are generally natural opportunity experts, networking professionals and customer relationship experts. These are all aspects that would give an incredible advantage to a solar business in a growing industry where competition is starting to get fierce.
Welcoming the right women into your business can only help create more opportunities for your company to become more flexible and customer friendly. When you visit a client, for example, go with a team: one for the technical side and one for customer relations. You can even tailor your client visits depending on the nature of the client, leaning more towards the technical or relational side as needed.
Brainstorming and business planning can become more versatile if you start including a woman on your planning team. And there are many more aspects of your business that can be improved through diversifying your team.
I recently graduated as a Health and Safety Practitioner. I became interested in solar energy while investigating backup power solutions for the CCTV cameras I was installing. I have completed Super Solar School, PV Mounter, Financing of PV System and Solar Power Designer for Commercial PV Systems. I’m looking forward to doing the Compliance for PV System training next, followed by the GREEN PV Designer Exam & finally my SAPVIA PV Assessment, to obtain my GreenCard. I’m actually looking to volunteer my services at an established solar company right now – looking forward to connecting with fellow #GREENAlumni.
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Help us increase our reach! Share the HIDDENS GEMS Challenge, tell people about the 20% DISCOUNT for women this August, and let’s bring more women than ever into the solar industry. Keep an eye on the GREEN Solar Academy social media channels and visit the website for more information: https://solar-training.org/hidden-gems-womens-month-2023/
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
About the GREEN Solar Academy
GREEN Solar Academy has been training solar professionals in South Africa since 2012, and today has academies across the African continent. Our SuperSolarSchool is the recommended solar installer training under SAPVIA’s PV GreenCard programme, and our online solar courses offer a blended-learning approach to TVET college and university lecturers and students in remote regions. You can contact GREEN Solar Academy on +27 (0) 10 312 6724 or info@solar-training.org
