A new report finds that the solar industry employs a higher than average rate of veterans, a group often faced with high unemployment.
The findings show that as of November 2013, America’s solar industry has grown by 500 percent since 2008, providing more than 13,000 veterans with job opportunities.
Almost ten percent of all solar workers are veterans, which is promising considering over 15 percent of veterans aged 18-24 are currently unemployed.
Plus, the outlook is bright: more than 60 percent of solar companies that employ veterans plan to add more solar workers over the next year.
“Our servicemen and women have made great sacrifices for our country and it is our responsibility to ensure that when they return home there are high-skill and well-paying jobs available,” said Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52).
“The solar industry offers our veterans a unique opportunity to use the knowledge they learned serving our country in a rapidly growing sector that is vital to both our national security and economic future,” he added.
The study is from The Solar Foundation and Operation Free, a coalition of veterans and national security experts working to secure America with clean energy, and draws on data from The Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census 2013.
“Through this collaboration, we are finally able to see, with hard numbers, what we have suspected for years: veterans are huge assets to the clean energy economy,” said Jaclyn Houser, Advocacy Director of Operation Free.
“They bring unparalleled technical skills and a relentless focus on accomplishing the mission. And they view their work in clean energy as a continuation of their service.”
It’s the first such study into veterans in the solar industry; Operation Free and The Solar Foundation aim to expand upon the findings to recruit and retain more veterans in solar.
