Smart Investments: Certifications and Licenses That Pay Off

Which credentials are worth your time and money in a competitive market? Women with insight into certification and licensure for tradespeople in solar will break down the real-world ROI of electrical licensure, NABCEP certification, and other professional development paths. Through examples and practical guidance, you'll learn how to make strategic decisions about building credentials that advance your career.

About the Solar for Women Webinar Series: This webinar is the second of three in a series that delivers practical strategies for finding work, investing in the right credentials, and negotiating your worth in the solar trades. Learn from leaders and experienced tradeswomen who will share honest advice, proven tactics, and the encouragement you need to thrive.

Panelists

Amanda Bybee has worked in the solar industry since 2003. Over the course of her career, she has helped launch several cooperatives: employee-owned cooperative Namasté Solar, purchasing cooperative Amicus Solar, financial cooperative Clean Energy Credit Union, and shared-services cooperative Amicus O&M Cooperative, where she has served as CEO since 2017. In recent years, she has contributed time and energy to several passion projects, including a Women's Speakers Bureau with WRISE, an informational website on how to recycle solar equipment at www.SolarRecycle.org, and an industry coalition on diversity, equity, and inclusion called Renewables Forward. In 2024, Amicus O&M Cooperative was awarded a $1.5M, three-year grant to address standardization, training, credentialing, and workforce development for solar PV O&M technicians.

Jenny Conrardy is a Journeyman Electrician based in Plymouth, WI. She completed a four-year apprenticeship program and also obtained her NABCEP PVIP.  She entered the trades after a long career in sustainable agriculture and natural foods. She needed to make a professional shift after becoming a single mom, and the idea of renewable energy seemed like a natural next step in the realm of sustainability.

Brittany Heller has been in the solar industry in a variety of roles since January 2015, starting her solar career in residential sales in New Orleans. She then moved to Denver where she completed a Construction Fellowship with GRID Alternatives Colorado, building a wide portfolio of solar projects all benefiting income-qualified families. In 2018, she began her role as Workforce & Community Engagement Manager at GRID Colorado, where Brittany led training efforts and worked with her team to secure funding to make all job training programs pay participants a living wage, increasing equitable access into the high quality jobs in the solar industry. Today, she works at HeatSpring where she helps to create and promote quality technical training to address our changing climate. Brittany holds her NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification. When she isn't talking about solar, she can be found growing food, building soil, and spending time with her animals on her budding 17-acre regenerative farm just outside of Atlanta, GA.