Deepen Your Knowledge with Mayfield’s Expert-Led Educational Workshops

Everyone in the renewable energy industry should set aside at least one or two days a year for continuing education.

From an individual to an industry level, the importance of consistent training is difficult to overstate. Continuing education helps you distinguish yourself during the hiring or promotion process and ensures that the industry at large is held to ever-improving standards.

Continuing education is also underutilized. If we compare the estimated total number of PV professionals in the NABCEP Professional Directory with the estimated total number of solar workers in the latest National Solar Jobs Census, we find that only about 1 percent of solar workers in the US obtain NABCEP certification. That figure excludes the thousands (if not millions) expected to join the solar workforce in the coming years. NABCEP certification puts you in exclusive company. 

But whether you get certified or not, continuing education can increase professionalism and overall customer satisfaction. It can also help reduce injuries for workers and members of the public.

In this post, we will discuss the value of the educational workshops provided by Mayfield Renewables and how you can use our workshops to gain a deeper understanding of all things solar and energy storage.

Making Education Accessible

Education and training are critical to smart, safe system design and installation. But education is only useful if it is accessible. That means making information understandable and ready to be put into practice. It also means making information available when and where you need it.

As a longtime leader in solar education, Mayfield Renewables has heard these concerns and has responded by building our own learning platform. We’re channeling our decades of training experience into a single resource on our website, creating a one-stop-shop for folks who want to take self-paced courses or live, in-person training on a particular topic.

Our first course on 2023 NEC requirements for ESS is now available. We just launched a second course on NFPA 855 and fire codes for ESS in late November. A third course on the UL 3741 Standard for Photovoltaic Hazard Control is slated to drop by the end of 2023.

We reverse-engineer our workshops to meet the needs of our students, with an emphasis on using visual aids to explain dense or complex code, design, or engineering concepts. We give every student access to our complete presentation materials with the hope that our tables and infographics will be plastered to office walls or downloaded on tablets in the field to be used as quick references for years to come.

Training the Leaders of Tomorrow

Expertise and communication skills contribute to high-quality education. For an example of how we break down complex technical topics, you can view the archives of our Ask Mayfield Anything video series and our Code Corner video series.

In contrast, educational workshops allow much more time for us to go in-depth on issues of importance to the industry. We can draw from our knowledge about fundamental principles and share insights from the field. We can connect attendees with our network of innovators and answer some of the recurring questions that have come up during the hundreds of hours of training sessions that our team has led.

The driving force behind our educational program, especially our workshop offering, is Mayfield Renewables Founder and CEO Ryan Mayfield. A renewable energy professional since 1999, Mayfield has taught about system design and installation as a NABCEP trainer, a college instructor, author of the book PV Design and Installation for Dummies, and editor of the now-defunct trade magazine SolarPro. Mayfield also serves as a member of Code-Making Panel 13, reviewing key sections of the NEC.

“Education and training was a big part of how I got into the industry. There was a lot of trial and error,” Ryan says. “It’s fun to see people still enjoying the conversations that we have continued to engage with for all these years and to see the leaders of tomorrow emerge from our latest workshops.”

In-Person and On-Demand

Mayfield models our in-person workshops on our decade-plus of experience leading workshops at the NABCEP Continuing Education Conference. We have been running NABCEP’s code class since the conference’s inception.

Our experience running events using the Zoom videoconferencing platform makes adult education more accessible than ever. Customers nationwide can sign up and receive a private Zoom training session led by Ryan Mayfield.

If time permits, however, you can also book on-location training with your team. One Mayfield customer recently arranged for Ryan to lead a workshop with 30 employees. In the friendly confines of your own space or a space of your choosing, you get a richly rewarding discussion on topics that are directly relevant to your work. This is one of the most valuable workshop formats we can provide.

Our newest set of workshops, the pre-recorded sessions, deliver the most convenient package of industry education. Follow along at your leisure, any place, and any time.

One key differentiator of Mayfield education is our ability to help manufacturers and service providers better understand their customers. Our engineering team works directly with developers and EPCs around the country. Our product consulting team collaborates with leading PV and energy storage manufacturers. The diversity of our services has helped us build an extensive network of key stakeholders at every level of the industry, whose insights inform our educational programs. We have made it our business to connect service providers with end users.

Earn NABCEP Credits

Mayfield Renewables is an accredited provider of advanced-level NABCEP training. All of our workshops count toward NABCEP continuing education units (CEUs). 

Requirements for NABCEP certification vary based on the credential you seek, such as a PV Installation Professional Board Certification, a PV Installer Specialist Board Certification, or another option. For example, the PV Installation Professional Board Certification requires at least 10 hours of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) construction industry training plus at least 58 hours of advanced training as defined in the NABCEP student handbook.

Whether you are a first-time certification seeker or an industry veteran looking to recertify, our courses will help you get the CEUs you need.

Sign Up for a Training Session 

Visit our workshops page for details about our on-demand training or to learn more about private workshops with your team.