Global Solar Council to introduce training standards for solar technicians

The Global Solar Council is developing training standards for the world’s PV technician workforce, in collaboration with the Global Wind Organisation.

The Solar Training Standards Initiative will develop sector-wide standards to ensure the safety, quality, and growth of the solar PV workforce.

It will begin with work on standardized training modules, consisting of learning objectives covering the most common work processes and hazards and risks for utility-scale solar technicians. The Global Solar Council says the training will be closely aligned with guidelines and job role definitions already published by representative bodies such as the American Clean Power Association’s Guidelines for Entry Level Solar Technician Training.

Assessments conducted by the Global Solar Council and Global Wind Organisation stakeholders have shown that training standards will avoid mass duplication across the sector and could lead to lower transaction costs and better productivity. It is expected that the initiative will help asset owners and developers recommend industry endorsed safety training for their engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors.

Global Wind Organisation standards were introduced for wind technicians in 2012. The Global Solar Council says it will leverage the expertise, network and experience of the wind industry to replicate its work for solar PV. 

Sonia Dunlop, the CEO of the Global Solar Council, said that with the solar power sector expected to add up to 1 TW of new capacity annually from 2030 onwards, the industry will “need to massively scale-up our skilled workforce.”

“Having a global standard is essential due to the global nature of the solar sector so that workers possess universally recognized and transferable skills, reducing the transaction cost of deploying solar,” Dunlop added. “This not only creates more opportunities for the solar workforce, but will be invaluable to ensure the quality of solar installations for a sustainable and just energy transition.”