Century College prepares students for bright futures in solar energy

Kristina Foley: While I was still in the program, All Energy Solar hired me in an entry-level sales representative position. I talked to prospective customers at the residential level interested in solar on their homes. I knew working with these customers could be a great fit for my background and skills. I had enough flexibility in this role to finish my classes and work at the same time, too.

Eventually, I took on a new position as Service Manager for the company. I went from sales, which is at the beginning step of investing in solar on your home, to the service and warranty end of the process. When I started in this role five years ago, we had two technicians and myself in the service department, and now we have five technicians and another office person. All Energy Solar had 52 full-time employees then and now has more than 130. I’ve seen firsthand how this field and the solar industry are growing and ever changing. You have to continuously learn. I’m always learning, even to this day, since the rules and regulations change and the landscape in this field changes so quickly.

Kristina Foley: The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a huge curve into everyone’s life, and as a manager, it’s been important for me to keep a cohesive team and keep our technicians safe. Every site where we have solar arrays is different and every problem we face is different. Our team does video calls in the morning and at the end of the day, talking and collectively problem-solving as a group. What materials do we need? How can we use each other as resources? What did we find, what did we fix, and what do we have to go back to do? We’re based in Saint Paul, but the team works in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and beyond. We’ve had to navigate different public health rules, hotspots, and mask requirements throughout our service territory. Some places have been more shut down than others, so that has complicated our work. There are new things to navigate every day.

The rest of my day is working with customers and taking care of internal requests. I’m doing contracts, invoicing, following up on materials with contractors and distributors, getting warranty claims on products, working internally with our operations department, install crews, and project coordinators on service upgrades. These can include a customer wanting to add panels or install an electric vehicle charger or additional items like snow guards to protect their panels, or a new monitoring system. I can help our team with those requests. Working in a service role like this, you need to know a bit of everything and ask lots of questions.

Every customer and every situation is different. It’s not the same thing you’re doing—it’s not the same call after call. I’ve enjoyed being able to resolve problems with customers. They can be really happy and satisfied when they understand more. Solar is not inexpensive, it’s an investment. Even with financing to pay monthly, there is still an additional cost, but for customers to look at their utility statements and to see the impact that solar is having, that’s great.

Sergio Navas: Managing all the different tasks that come with running a new business has been really rewarding. I’m working with clients, doing the actual drone piloting work in the field, and then working on marketing and videos of these services for social media, too, including on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Since finishing the program, I have been going out and doing the work, a lot of which is showing up and networking. Through the program at Century College and Scott Randall’s network, I have been able to connect with a lot of people in the solar industry, which is great. I get to pitch and share what I’m doing—some in the industry are excited and others have questions. I’m also in a position to pay it forward by helping other Century College students.

Educating those I work with about drone applications in the industry has still been a challenge. Some are skeptical and don’t know how to incorporate drones into their workflow. Introducing a new technology like this can make it difficult, but there are opportunities for us all to learn and adapt. I’m the kind of person who wants everything to happen at once, so I admit that I can sometimes be impatient wanting to see all of this change happen, but I’m seeing progress in my business and in the industry too, which is encouraging.

Kristina Foley: I would say that anyone interested at all in renewable energy or solar will learn a lot from enrolling in a training program like the one at Century College. Through these courses, you can find what topics or jobs are or aren’t a good fit for you personally. You learn the basic skills and knowledge you need to work in the renewable energy field, so you can talk intelligently and understand what your coworkers and customers might be saying. We need people from all different backgrounds to make solar and renewable energy work well. For young people, you can also come into an entry-level position in a warehouse, in sales, or as an installer, and make a decent hourly wage or put in hours toward becoming a journeyman and an electrician. I got out of sales and went to something completely different, so it’s possible to switch gears even within the industry.

I’m passionate about this work. I like all the opportunities this field provides. And All Energy Solar has been a great fit for me. They offer a great product, and they’ve been around for years. I get calls from people who worked with installers who are no longer in business, but it’s great that we have been able to stay in the industry and grow. I like to send people to the All Energy Solar careers page on our website and share this new Solar Jobs e-book resource we created. We’re always looking for talented folks. 

Sergio Navas: I like to remind people looking to find a career in this field that we really can help humanity to do better. We can do better than what we have now. If you like energy or engineering, the program at Century College is the way to go. You can find purpose in it. I was drawn to the work and to doing my best. It’s not a job where I wake up sighing and say, “Oh, I have to go to the office and another day of work.” I find a real purpose with it. I wake up saying, “I have the opportunity to change the solar industry and help change the world, too.” There are many ways to change the world, but I see this work in renewable energy as my small part. If people have questions about my work or experience or want to work together, I encourage them to contact me and connect on social media, too.