On Wednesday, January 6th, Richards Memorial United Church (Richards Memorial), in London, Ontario began operating its new microFIT rooftop solar installation.  The project is the city’s first photovoltaic (PV) system on a church building.

“We’ve seen cars stop in the street and (drivers) roll down their windows to look up,” (more…)

According to a recent study, humans are not the only animals to take part in a solar economy of sorts.  While it may not attend solar training courses or pursue green careers, the Oriental hornet harvests the power of the sun for energy.

The recent findings were discovered by Israeli and UK researchers and published in the German journal, Naturwissenschaften. (more…)

The Queen City recently hosted BOMEX 2010 – the 20^th edition of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada (BOMA Canada) National Conference and Exhibition.

The line-up for the conference reflected the province’s growing interest in the environment, (more…)

On the heels of 694 recently approved renewable energy projects in the province, Ontario Solar Academy (OSA) has established itself a new 8,000 square foot facility in Vaughan, a city just north of Toronto. The move allows OSA to run three times as many training classes every month – an expansion deemed increasingly necessary due to capacity constraints and renewed interest in green careers across the province.

Since its launch earlier this year, OSA has graduated over 75 alumni, with another 27 slated for May.  The Academy’s 5-day solar training courses have consistently sold out in advance. David Gower, Associate Director of OSA, explains, “To ensure our students master the necessary installation and safety principles, we must keep class sizes small.  The only way to meet demand is to expand the number of solar courses we offer.”

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The belief that jobs in the solar industry are limited to working on the roof or chasing after sales leads is not really accurate today as other opportunities are available and increasing, according to solar career expert Liz Merry.

Merry, owner of Verve Solar Consulting in Davis, Calif., has been sharing insights and advice about the solar industry since 2001 through numerous courses, articles and blogs. Promising no hype and no panaceas, she offered solid advice for career seekers in the solar photovoltaics (PV) industry at a recent workshop at the California Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego, Calif.

Merry outlined four major steps every solar job seeker should follow to understand where he or she may fit into the industry: (more…)

On President Obama’s second Earth Day in office, how far have green jobs come toward fixing unemployment and environmental ills? The administration aims for 5 million green jobs to grow in the next 10 years. Should Americans still believe the “hype?” Here’s the latest in green jobs news from around the Web:

The White House early in 2009 announced $500 million for efforts to train green workers, and this January it described job-training grants worth $100 million of that package. But that’s not nearly enough cash for an effort that should be as big as the Space Race, says pundit Jesse Jenkins. And contrary to conventional wisdom, green jobs are already being exported beyond U.S. borders.
(Breakthrough Institute)

For now, “fewer than 200 factories in the United States are devoted to green production, employing no more than 15,000 workers.” Companies can apply for new, federal tax credits to boost U.S. manufacturing, but an economist finds that “fewer than 500 applications have been filed so far for the tax breaks, and if all were approved they would add just 75,000 green manufacturing jobs.”
(New York Times)

Yet, 10 percent of employers have added new, green jobs in the past year, according to a CareerBuilder poll of 2,700 hiring managers. Among the green occupations described as earning more than $60,000 on the job Web site are hydrologist, solar energy system designer, waste management engineer and urban planner. (However, CareerBuilder’s GoingGreenJobs site was kaput on Wednesday.)
(press release) (more…)

With the resignation of White House CEQ member and “Green Jobs Czar” Van Jones over Labor Day weekend, the movement toward a green tech economy took more than just a symbolic hit. Take these three lessons from Jones’ resignation as signals that the Senate’s lift on energy/climate change legislation in the coming weeks may be even tougher than predicted:

Green as Granola…or Worse? We have seen time and again this year that in spite of further entrenchment with skeptics, the green movement is still not resonant in red state America. In fact, they see climate change and energy reform as hippie holdover hokum. The Jones resignation proves that in at least one way, the movement is still way too far out on the fringe. The idea that a White House-level official with Jones stature and profile could possibly have been affiliated with a 9/11-truth group — even in a peripheral way — demonstrates that a lot of the movement’s leadership comes from well outside the political mainstream.

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Trends matter – so if you’re looking for a job, pay attention to them.

Let me explain.

If you’re trying to get a job at a clean tech company, you’re probably going to be competing for work with well-educated, savvy candidates. So even if you know a little a bit about the industry, know what sector you want to work in, and can carry on an adequately informed conversation about a company’s technology, customers, and market opportunity, you’re only going to be part way to impressing somebody in an interview.
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Looking for a green technology job in the Solar industry is something more and more job seekers are focusing on these days. The reasons are easily explained if you turn to Frank Marquardt, author of Green Careers, coauthor of How Green Is Your City, and writer on the CleanTechies Blog: “Solar represents an attractive industry to many looking for an industry with a positive long-term outlook, and one where they can make a difference. Those who do find a job will have the opportunity to work alongside passionate people who realize their work will have a very real effect on some of the most significant geopolitical issues of the age, including energy independence and climate change.”

At the same time, that’s exactly why breaking into Solar is not an easy thing to accomplish. There is a lot of competition for a limited number of jobs, and companies have specific requirements to their jobs that many applicants do not necessarily meet.

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Clean Tech is sexy, and job seekers all around the world are looking for ways to enter this exciting market. But the job search can be daunting, and it can take months to land a job. Career changers with several years of experience in other industries are facing additional challenges as some are not confident applying directly for clean technology positions.

The best way to boost your confidence is to learn about the companies and technologies, to identify what you are passionate about, and to learn what roles your experience is best suited for. To do that, you need to research, attend conferences, and network! (See: Does Your CleanTech Job Hunt S***?)

The core tool you should have in your search is an outstanding resume. A professional resume writer can help you identify your most important skills, leverage your previous experience, and position yourself for a CleanTech job. CleanTechies talked to Andy Burnett, a seasoned Sales & Business Development professional, about his decision to work with a professional resume writer.

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