As a part of Cisco’s “Plan for Attainable,” our environmental sustainability technique, I typically emphasize the significance of resilient ecosystems. An important facet of resilient ecosystems is making certain communities have the abilities, instruments, and assets to assist the event and deployment of fresh vitality. Vitality resilience shouldn’t be solely about infrastructure; it’s essentially about individuals. Communities can profit from clear vitality options, reminiscent of microgrids and photo voltaic storage, however a talented workforce and progressive applied sciences are wanted to maintain these initiatives.
Many sectors, together with manufacturing, know-how, and development, want expertise that may assist enhance effectivity, scale back utilization of uncooked supplies, reduce waste, and assist defend the setting. The truth is, a 2024 report from LinkedIn signifies that such expertise “are more likely to turn out to be more and more necessary because the trade confronts the complexities of overhauling the facility grid.”
By investing in coaching, know-how, and partnerships, we can assist to construct in resilience from the bottom up and assist individuals to take management of their vitality future.
Not too long ago, we held a dialogue on this matter with three nonprofits funded by the Cisco Basis, and right here’s what they needed to share:
GRID Options
Based in 2001, GRID Options is the most important nonprofit installer of fresh vitality applied sciences in the US for low-income households and communities. GRID has educated over 33,000 people in photo voltaic set up by its workforce growth packages and provides job seekers the expertise and networking alternatives they want, whereas serving to native photo voltaic firms fill their ranks.
Erica Mackie, P.E., Co-Founder and CEO of GRID Options, shared, “After we first began, we weren’t enthusiastic about workforce growth as a result of the trade was nascent. Individuals would come to us and say, ‘I have to volunteer with GRID Options as a result of I utilized for a job, and the employer instructed me I don’t have any expertise.’ Our workforce growth packages reply to neighborhood members asking us to offer coaching and saying, ‘We are attempting to get jobs and want the expertise to get these jobs.’ We now present coaching modules in a lab that additionally consists of hands-on expertise at an precise set up. We’ll additionally do wrap-around companies like find out how to write a resume or find out how to interview. We now have a commencement ceremony the place employers will come, and we’ll have stations arrange for every of our trainees to display their craft and what they discovered within the set up fundamentals coaching.”
Kara Photo voltaic
Kara Photo voltaic started in 2012 as a dream to construct a solar-powered boat. They now assist a thriving community of photo voltaic transport and vitality hubs in Achuar territory within the Ecuadorian Amazon and are starting to copy the mannequin with extra communities throughout the Amazon area. By optimizing designs, offering technical coaching, constructing native provide chains, and facilitating financing, Kara Photo voltaic allows Indigenous communities to entry, implement, and handle photo voltaic transportation and vitality methods in their very own territories, on their very own phrases. Essential to the mannequin is in-depth native capability constructing. Kara Photo voltaic has educated Indigenous technicians to put in and preserve neighborhood microgrids that save gasoline, scale back carbon emissions, and assist Indigenous communities in constructing native financial energy and preserving rainforest ecosystems.
Oliver Utne, founding father of Kara Photo voltaic shared, “We frequently say that the Amazon is a cemetery of failed initiatives. As a result of companies will are available in, set up photo voltaic or another form of technological resolution, inform the native individuals don’t contact this, after which they depart. The DNA of our group from the very starting was about co-design; it was about how will we get the proper heads collectively that haven’t been collectively previously? Our coaching methodology is all about studying by doing hands-on, and more and more peer-to-peer-training as a result of now there’s this actually strong core of Indigenous technicians who’re coaching different individuals.”
Photo voltaic Sister
Based in 2010, Photo voltaic Sister is the world’s first scalable, women-led renewable vitality distribution mannequin, addressing vitality and local weather challenges by offering important companies and coaching to ladies to construct companies in their very own communities. Presently energetic in Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania, their purpose is to assist ladies entrepreneurs in increasing clear vitality distribution in last-mile communities. They supply Photo voltaic Sister Entrepreneurs (SSE) with enterprise teaching, mentorship, a examined product pipeline, and entry to their native Photo voltaic Sister Sisterhood teams for networking, assist, and encouragement. There have been over 11,000 SSEs since their founding.
Olasimbo Sojinrin, CEO of Photo voltaic Sister shared, “Our mannequin has been rooted on the grownup studying rules, the place 70% of studying comes from hands-on expertise, 20% comes from peer-to-peer studying and 10% studying from classroom instruction. We’ve invested in curriculum growth which we ship in these classroom settings as soon as each month, and the curriculum covers important matters for beginning and operating a clear vitality enterprise. The coaching is completed in a “sisterhood” group which gives the platform for girls to share experiences and study from one another. As particular person enterprise house owners, they share experiences, talk about challenges and options, and assist one another. By combining hands-on expertise from their each day enterprise actions, sisterhood group peer-to-peer studying, and month-to-month trainings; we empower ladies to thrive and construct a sustainable clear vitality enterprise.”
Cisco’s worth chain advantages from resilient ecosystems, each financially and ecologically. It’s in our shared curiosity to assist innovation by investing in clear applied sciences and serving to to create sustainability-related jobs by constructing expert workforces. That’s the reason we’re so pleased with the work our Cisco Basis grantees are doing to Energy a Extra Inclusive Future for All.
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