Solar Program Puts Ft. Carson Soldiers to Work

A program offered for soldiers at Ft. Carson is helping veterans enter the workforce.

Colorado native, Specialist Sean Cutshaw is one of the students enrolled in the six week course.
He spent time in Germany before finishing out his military career at Fort Carson.

“When you have a class that offers some great training and things like this, it’s really a no brainer,” said Cutshaw.

Over six weeks, the soldiers learn everything from safety on the job to installing solar panels.

“These service members are getting a step up by getting trained in battery based systems as well as the other type of solar systems. So they’ll be well suited to go on and work in the solar industry from here,” said instructor Kelly Larson.

“The hands that we’re getting is vital, being able to go into the workforce and actually be able to hit the ground running as opposed to just getting classroom,” said Cutshaw.

When Cutshaw graduates in just one week, he hopes to apprentice in solar panels, specifically for low income housing.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar is the fastest growing industry.

“It’s just going up, up up. It’s a really exciting time to be joining solar,” said Larson.

Graduation is on Friday, June 12th. The average starting pay in the industry, is about $25 an hour.