Originally posted at Oregonlive.com.
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PCC program offers path to solar jobs

The Argus

The 2006 announcement of a SolarWorld site on Evergreen Road brought new industry to the city's mix and new jobs to the region.

With full production anticipated by year end, now is the time for some of those jobs to appear. The Jobs & Career page on SolarWorld's Web site lists 13 manufacturing job classifications, ranging from maintenance and equipment engineer for crystal growing to engineering technician for automated optical cell inspection.

Job titles like these might stop an entry-level applicant cold. Margie Fyfield's passion is to make sure that doesn't happen.

Fyfield is dean of the Science & Technology Department at Portland Community College, Rock Creek. She wants to spread word of PCC's Solar Voltaic Manufacturing Technology programs, designed in cooperation with SolarWorld to provide career gateways for those committed to the green industry.

Just as SolarWorld's employee needs are varied, PCC offerings are also multitiered.

A rapid route to a job is by earning the 13 credits for a certificate of completion in solar voltaic manufacturing technology. Students in this program take classes in basic electronics, digital systems, fundamentals of chemistry and solar cell manufacturing processes. At successful completion they might quality for operator I or II positions with SolarWorld, with starting salaries of at least $20,000.

This certificate can lead to advancement. Most of its credits can transfer to requirements for an associate's degree in solar voltaic, a program requiring completion of 95 credits.

Obtaining the certificate allows students to work while studying for the degree. With the credit transfer, "they won't have wasted their time or money and can join our AAS program," Fyfield said.

SolarWorld supports employees following this path. Fyfield said Jim Talty, the company's training manager at the Hillsboro site, worked with PCC to design the programs. And SolarWorld offers financial help for tuition and books for employees pursuing the degree, which can lead to technician positions with starting salaries of $40,000. With experience, pay for such technicians can top $100,000, Fyfield said.

Because of similarities between solar cell and silicon wafer production, PCC's solar program can use the same equipment as classes developed to train technicians for Intel and other microchip manufacturers. One classroom holds machinery worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, including a LAM etcher donated by Intel.

These resources make PCC's program a unique opportunity. It's "not only the only such program in the area, but also the only one in the state," Fyfield said.

Classes for PCC's fall term begin Sept. 22, but registration is already underway. Steve Naylor, a PCC information specialist, will conduct outreach, including attending job fairs, to attract applicants.

The program is open to anyone. Fyfield said the work is especially good for the mechanically talented, those who might be considering only auto mechanics. It is also good for students who are searching for direction, she said.

Many students in the program are recent immigrants, some from African nations such as Somalia and many from Southeast Asia, Fyfield said. They may be the only ones from their families here in the U.S. and see technical jobs as a way to send money back to support the others: a combination of pressure and motivation, she said.

More information about the Micro Electronics Department and the Solar Voltaic degree path is available at www.pcc.edu/mt. Interested students may also call either 503-614-7255 or 503-614-7626 or e-mail microelec@pcc.edu.

Originally posted at Oregonlive.com.
Read the original post here.