Solar Certificate Training Program Holds Completion Ceremony

Spirits soared and camaraderie ruled as the eighth cohort, and first to be held fully in-person, of the Solar Certificate Training Program received completion certificates in a ceremony this month.

Adding to the excitement, the event was held in the new Solar Laboratory of PCCC’s Institute for America’s New and Emerging Workforce, located on the Main Campus in Paterson.

“Congratulations to all of you,” said Janet Albrecht, dean of Continuing Education and Workforce Development, which administers the program at PCCC. “You should all be very proud of this accomplishment.”

The short-term training program is grant-funded and offered at no cost to qualifying students. Due to both start-up activities and a waiting period while the solar lab was under construction, students of the first seven cohorts were offered online and remote live training.

Twelve students of the eighth cohort, which ran from November to December, are now trained for employment in the vast and growing solar industry.  All adults, the students ranged from career changers to those who were re-training after a layoff, and even one who plans to enter the labor market for the first time.  

After nearly two decades as a massage therapist, Daniel Barenholtz decided to change careers and was drawn to the solar certification program for environmental reasons. “I’m really concerned about climate change and felt that working in the solar industry can help humanity.”

Expressions of gratitude for the program and for the instructors overflowed and the teaching staff was presented with gifts of framed certificates from the students, honoring  their dedication.

 “Thank you for the opportunity and for believing in us,” said Evelyn Earley who looks forward to continuing her training to higher levels. Mr. Barenholtz added, “You were amazing and gave us all such excellent support.”

The teaching staff includes lead instructor Dr. Nuggehalli M. Ravindra, known as Professor Ravi, a professor of physics at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT); Ms. Sirimuvva Pathikonda, a supply chain management and marketing specialist, also from NJIT; and Dyllon Stejakoski, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in applied physics.

“This class has been a wonderful journey,” said Professor Ravi, commending the class not only for their dedication to their studies, but also for their mutual support and generosity of spirit to one another. “They can take this knowledge and these attitudes into the marketplace, into factories, into our workforce and make society more successful and supportive.”

Both Professor Ravi and Dean Albrecht made the point that the solar program and the College’s recently added welding program, also located in the new Institute facility, have been congenial and beneficial neighbors to each other in ways that bode well for the future of workforce training in the trades.

Dean Albrecht also noted that future plans will include both in-person and online learning options to offer greater flexibility “in this innovative and collaborative project to build career and academic pathways from certificate programs to community college, and college and university programming in the emerging and in-demand field of renewable energy.”

Attending the ceremony were representatives of the College administration, Foundation, and Marketing and Communications team. “On behalf of PCCC, we are so proud of your accomplishments and hope that this credential will bring enormous economic benefits to you and your family members,” said Todd Sorber, vice president of Institutional Advancement at PCCC. “We look forward to hearing about your future success in the renewable energy industry.”   

The Solar Certificate Training Program was established at PCCC in 2023 as part of The Northern New Jersey Post Pandemic Workforce Training Initiative, sponsored wholly by a $1.95 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. 

The next cohort for the Solar Certificate Training Program is scheduled to begin in January 2025. For information, visit
Fast-Track Solar Certification Training Program – PCCC