Training the new generation of solar power employees.
When Michael Chanin co-founded Cherry Street Energy 10 years ago, he and his team wanted to ensure that the company could fully support a burgeoning industry and its customers for years to come.
“We needed to create opportunities to learn a new trade in what we call a reimagined renewable energy economy,” says Chanin, a Buckhead resident and the company’s CEO. “We sell solar power. We own, operate and maintain the infrastructure that supports clean energy production, and we need skilled labor to be trained and capable of supporting that infrastructure.”
The Shine On program was created to recruit, train and develop the “New Collar Workforce.” Through that platform, the Cherry Street Solar School, a 10-week intensive program that offers education, certification and skills development, has trained 250 individuals since 2018. Many of them have found careers through partnerships between Cherry Street and organizations like City of Refuge and the nsoro Educational Foundation that supports youth who are aging out of the foster care system.
“Every county in Georgia needs someone who knows how to do solar, just like every community needs a plumber or a house framer. Every community needs skilled and talented individuals who know how to operate and maintain this technology,” Chanin says. “Education in this area is something that we look to continue to lead.”
CHERRY STREET ENERGY
cherrystreet.com
@cherrystreetenergy
