Goal For The Green

Are you considering a career change or wanting to get in on the ground floor wave of “green” jobs that will be here to stay?  Then visit Boots on the Roof.  They offer various solar training bootcamps for electricians and entrepreneurs interested in starting their own solar business.

Boots on the Roof delivers top-quality market-ready training programs for solar energy industry professionals.  They are the solar energy training division of Unitek Education, a long-time national Learning Partner of high-tech companies (having received the highest education honors awarded by Microsoft, Cisco, Citrix, & RedHat).  Their team has a 16-year track record of successfully partnering with large organizations to train tens of thousands of students nationwide.

Here is some of the history of Boots On The Roof and where the company is headed.  They have spent several years investigating the green energy industry, especially solar, and were amazed at the wide variety of often-conflicting standards & practices in training, certification, and regulations.

So, they committed themselves to delivering courses that point to where those elements are likely to stabilize in the market, instead of teaching the “home-grown” information that has commonly been taught for the past 30 years.  Things are changing rapidly now, and moving towards standards & certification.

Boots on the Roof is committed to working with industry associations, manufacturers, installers, government, financers, and educators to implement solar power for businesses and individuals who expect stability, predictability, and return on investment.  They specialize in training the next generation of Solar Entreprenuers and successful business people.

The NABCEP ( the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitoners) has approved Boots On The Roof, as an educational institution and testing center.  By attending the 7- day Solar Bootcamp, you will learn and be given the NABCEP Entry level Certificate of Knowledge of PV systems exam.

The certificate was first rolled out in 2oo5 by NABCEP, and the exam certification process, was most recently updated in July 2008, to meet current energy standards.  It is intended to measure basic solar power knowledge of professionals entering the field in any capacity. It is not just for installers.  It demonstrates that the student has achieved basic knowledge, comprehension, and application of key terms and concepts of photo voltaic system operations.  A person receiving this certification is then qualified and suitable for a supervised entry level position with a dealer/installer or other PV industry company.  These skills in no way replace those that are learned in an Electrical Trades or Engineering program.

So, take a look at what Boots On The Roof can offer you, and start the New Year off  with a new “green” career.

It’s shocking to hear coming from a billionaire oil man. There is no easy fix to the energy “emergency” we are in. T.Boone Pickens has set out to build an Army of Americans to fight for the cause of reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The 80 year old oil tycoon is lobbying for his energy plan, arguing that “This is one emergency that we can’t drill our way out of.”

Currently we are spending $700 billion dollars a year in foreign oil. Mr. Pickens wants to replace more than 1/3 of the oil we import with wind, natural gas, solar and other “green” energy sources. His plan states that it can be done in less than a decade. He sees America as the “Saudi Arabia of wind,” stating that it is the future of this country. To back up his plan, he is currently building the worlds largest 4,000 megawatt wind farm, on 400,000 acres in Pampa, Texas.

Wind could be the source of energy for many of our power plants that currently run on natural gas. This then would free-up natural gas to power planes, trains and cars. It would be cleaner and much more economical, while cutting down our dependence on foreign oil.

As Americans, we need to put aside our political views, stand up and insist that whoever is elected, do something in the area of exploring alternative energy sources. We can start by contacting our elected state representatives and insist that they take action on these issues.

For the last forty years we have been operating “like fools without a plan. ” At least now there is a plan. It is a place to start to put our country back on the track of being self sustaining. Our government isn’t doing anything, so it’s our turn! For more information visit: