The massive solar worker shortage is our fault

In a time of rapid, radical change, the looming shortage of workers in a critical field is not what we need. Yet, according to a growing body of estimates, that is exactly what we face.

By 2033, the United States will need 475,000 solar workers, nearly twice as many as we have now. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of solar installers will grow only 22% by 2032, which is far from the number of workers we need.

What happened? And what do we do?

There is a temptation to blame the current administration for this, but that is misplaced and shortsighted. In fact, if not for the Biden administration’s success with the Infrastructure, Relief and CHIPS Acts, the situation would be worse. The truth is that this goes back further and is more widespread than just solar jobs.

The Big Picture and How to Fix It

Let me remind you that we are in the strongest labor market in history, but that does not mean that there are not – or will not be – problems. An example is the shortage of workers in the solar sector. This will not be the last such problem.

When there’s a shortage, it’s not because we’re short of unskilled, unskilled workers; it’s because of a skills gap, plain and simple. That’s the problem. Now the solution.

In 2013, I wrote a series of six commentaries on major trends impacting the workplace and our society as a whole. One was titled “The Four Partners,” highlighting and predicting shortages in critical areas. I don’t usually run around saying “I told you so,” but in this case I could.

Four partners

I have called for a four-party partnership, which I believe is the only way to meet the demands of the 21st^saint a workplace with a large number of highly skilled and well-educated workers that will (a) help us regain our edge in global competitiveness and (b) ensure that a central pillar of the American Dream – each generation doing better than the last – remains relevant.

There must be four partners: the employer, higher education, government and the individual. These four partners, strongly committed to the highest common goals, can recreate the workplace, but only if everyone takes up their responsibilities.

Employers

First, employers need to recognize the outdated skill set in our workplace and accept that a whole group of highly skilled workers will not suddenly appear anytime soon. Yet employers have reduced or eliminated long-term training programs. Those who argue that the private sector creates jobs ignore the new responsibility of the private sector: helping to build a modern workforce. Employers need to invest more in long-term, advanced training.

Education

Second, the education system, at both the secondary and higher levels, must recognize that it has not adequately prepared a nation of students for the competitive global markets of the present, let alone the future. Community colleges have made progress, and some four-year colleges are doing the same, but much more needs to be done. But the difficult task is to reorganize the curriculum standards to make two adjustments at once: to increase specific technical skills—STEM: science, technology, engineering, mathematics—while developing a broader approach to the arts and literature, yes, the liberal arts. The most frequently cited skill deficits include communication (especially writing), critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving.

Government

Third, government must intervene. This is a national issue (even a national security issue, when you think about it), and if the private sector stubbornly refuses to do what this nation critically needs—to train its workforce—who will? Someone has to promote the common good—and government, which has begun to do so in the past four years—is the one to do it. High on the World Economic Forum’s list of global competitiveness are countries where government plays an active role (not big, not small, but active). Unfortunately, public funding for education is declining in 48 states.

Individual

And fourth, the individual. Once we’ve finished passing the buck to the other three players, it’s time for each of them to take the initiative, make plans, and then execute them. Given the current state of affairs, the only person who can take the first step and do something about it is the one for whom it means the most: the job seeker.

How can this happen?

For example, get coal miners out of their dirty, dangerous, ecologically toxic mines. Build a retraining program; community colleges are natural places. Secure commitments from high-tech employers to fill openings with these newly skilled workers. Fill those positions.

Works elsewhere.