Solar Energy Technologies Office Workforce Request for Information and Convenings (Summary)
On May 4, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) published a Request for Information (RFI) on programs that support the development of a diverse and skilled clean energy workforce. The purpose of the RFI was to solicit feedback from industry, academia, government agencies, worker organizations (including unions), and other stakeholders on issues related to the employment needs of the solar industry, and the perceived value of different workforce development programs, training strategies, and tools. To supplement the RFI, SETO hosted four virtual convenings that brought together the utility-scale solar industry, the distributed generation solar industry, and labor and other workforce training organizations to hear direct feedback on the questions in the RFI. In addition, SETO held listening sessions with about a dozen other organizations and staff who could not participate in the virtual convenings. Altogether, SETO received 45 responses from the RFI and heard directly from 80-100 other stakeholders via the convenings and listening sessions. This document summarizes the stakeholder feedback that SETO received as a result of this process. While both the RFI and convening series were focused on solar deployment and solar industry members, much of this information is relevant across clean energy technologies and programs. It is important to recognize that DOE is intentionally reviewing our workforce development programming and support to focus on clean energy careers more holistically.