Fall 2010 » Featured Articles
Students go green for jobs of tomorrow
Sinclair's Energy Center has been driving the development of green-collar jobs in the Dayton region.
Since its inception the Sinclair Community College Energy Education Center has been driving the development of curriculum and course work to prepare students for the green-collar jobs already available in the Dayton region. One of the most recent course additions was solar photovoltaic (PV) design and installation. At its most basic, the solar PV course teaches students how to install solar panels.
Recently the solar PV course gave students the chance to obtain valuable hands-on experience, thanks to a partnership with The Dayton Power and Light Company (DP&L). Students aided in the installation of solar panels at a DP&L substation. As part of a $5 million project, DP&L plans to construct 9,000 solar panels at its 50-acre Yankee Street facility in Washington Township.
Students in the class were among the first at Sinclair to take the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) entry-level exam. NABCEP is the nationally recognized certifying body for entry-level solar PV, solar thermal and wind installers. The national pass rate for the exam is 50 percent; but course instructor Dr. Robert Gilbert, technical director of the Energy Education Center, clarified that his students – 78 percent of whom passed – performed much better than that.
Through the efforts of Gilbert, Sinclair is collaborating with DP&L and Melink Corporation to provide internship opportunities for students. Four Sinclair students – Joseph Allen, Dave Erbaugh, Roger Hummel and Tina Lightfoot – worked on DP&L’s 1.1-megawatt PV Yankee Road installation. They were also invited by DP&L to the grand opening of the facility. Michael Click and Tina Lightfoot were selected by Melink Corporation for paid internships, to work on the PV installation at the Miamisburg Mound.
“Our hope is that the partnership prospers, providing great experience for our students,” stated Gilbert. “More important, we are linking students to green-collar job opportunities in our region.”
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