GRID recently returned to Far Rockaway \u2013 this time with NEW volunteers. Non-traditional Employment for Women (NEW) is a workforce development program that prepares women for careers in construction and other unionized jobs. Working with GRID allows NEW students to become competitive job applicants in the rapidly growing solar industry and provide cheap electricity in the form of solar to those that need it most \u2013 in this case, Hurricane Sandy survivors.<\/p>\n
As a firm believer in diversity in the workplace with our Women in Solar Initiative, we are proud of our work with NEW. This past Friday NEW students demonstrated that they are well prepared to excel in the solar field. From 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. NEW students bent conduit, spliced rail, wired junction boxes and lugged around solar panels, providing hope that women will be more represented in solar in the not too distant future.<\/p>\n
As a former NEW student and current GRID employee Melisa Napolitano can attest to the rigorous training NEW students go through before they graduate.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone that goes to NEW gets basic training on all aspects of various construction trades as well as lifting and carrying objects weighing up to 60lbs or more. So at the end of the day we\u2019re just as qualified as the men we\u2019re working with.\u201d said Melissa.<\/p>\n
As our first project in Far Rockaway since our launch came to an end, we realized we\u2019re on the cusp of a \u201cNEW\u201d chapter – one in which everyone can participate in a clean energy future.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After a successful launch, we’re making our return to the Rockaways as we look to continue our rebuilding efforts on the peninsula devastated by Hurricane Sandy.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78,79],"tags":[],"audience":[],"content-type":[12],"focus-area":[29,20,72,36,73],"region":[],"series":[],"content-author":[],"class_list":["post-2804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equity-community","category-workforce-education","content-type-news","focus-area-clients","focus-area-job-training","focus-area-solar-storage-installations","focus-area-women-in-solar","focus-area-workforce-development"],"acf":{"hero_media_type":"image","hero_media_image":null,"hero_media_url":"","hero_media_poster":null,"hero_video_play":"inline","related_stories":null,"pattern_override":null,"story_callouts":null,"media":null,"featured_blog_post":null,"featured_event":null,"pdf_download":null,"blockquote":null,"author":null,"notice":null,"social_embed":null,"contact_card":null,"meta_details":null,"faq":null,"table":null},"yoast_head":"\n