Sunrun Launches Innovative Education Program to Upskill America’s Workforce for Green Careers

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN), the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services provider, today launched PowerU, a new fully-funded employee education and upskilling program designed to train and develop its workforce for the rapidly growing clean energy industry.

Through PowerU, Sunrun will nurture the next generation of green careers and professionals. The solar industry is currently on a trajectory to reach 400,000 jobs by 2030, but more than 900,000 skilled workers will be needed to reach President Joe Biden’s 2035 clean energy target. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the solar installer will be the third fastest-growing job in America over the next decade.

Sunrun has partnered with Guild Education, the leading education and upskilling platform, to help meet this demand and connect employees to opportunities for advancement by providing access to 150+ fully-funded and flexible education and upskilling programs. These programs include: bachelor’s and master’s degrees in areas such as sustainability management, electrical engineering, information technology, and environmental science; professional development and graduate certificates in areas such as sales leadership, solar installation, supply chain management, and data science; English language classes; high school completion courses; and a first-of-its kind employer-sponsored electrician apprenticeship program.

The custom-built electrician apprenticeship program was designed to provide employees with a clear career pathway to become certified electricians — a designation often required for solar and home battery installers. The program builds on Sunrun’s existing commitment to accelerate talent acquisition and strengthen workforce development to meet rising industry demand and build a strong and diverse workforce.

“Sunrun’s new PowerU benefits program aims to empower thousands of Sunrunners to forge stable careers and prosperous futures,” said Sejal Patel Daswani, Sunrun Chief Human Resources Officer. “By launching PowerU and expanding solar workforce development, Sunrun’s PowerU will proudly lead the industry to meet ever-increasing demand for skilled clean energy professionals.”

PowerU enhances Sunrun’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and strengthens investment in communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the industry’s workforce. Sunrun has set goals to reach gender and racial representation parity in manager and leadership roles by 2025. PowerU is designed to eliminate barriers and increase access to opportunity, which will enable talent attraction and retention, as well as career mobility for employees. With PowerU, Sunrun will uniquely offer the opportunity to train, work, and move-up in one of the fastest growing industries globally.

Starting day-one of employment, all regular full-time and part-time Sunrun employees are eligible and will have access to an entire support system, including a team of certified education and career coaches who can help employees set goals, select programs, balance responsibilities, and evaluate career pathways.

“Our country is in a war for talent, one where we need to fill jobs today and build toward careers of tomorrow. We’re thrilled to partner with Sunrun, an innovative and forward-thinking company, to build a program that will attract talent and bring more people into green careers. At the same time, this will prepare Sunrun and Sunrunners for the future,” said Rachel Carlson, CEO and Co-Founder, Guild Education.

PowerU will offer career programs through learning providers including Brandman University, Colorado State University College of Business, eCornell, Johnson & Wales University, Oregon State University, Penn Foster, University of Arizona, Voxy EnGen, Wilmington University, and others. The electrician apprenticeship program was designed in collaboration with Penn Foster and Guild.

About Sunrun

Sunrun Inc. (Nasdaq: RUN) is the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services company. Founded in 2007, Sunrun pioneered home solar service plans to make local clean energy more accessible to everyone for little to no upfront cost. Sunrun’s innovative home battery solution brings families affordable, resilient, and reliable energy. The company can also manage and share stored solar energy from the batteries to provide benefits to households, utilities, and the electric grid while reducing our reliance on polluting energy sources. For more information, please visit www.sunrun.com.

About Guild Education

Guild Education is on a mission to unlock opportunity for America's workforce through education and upskilling. A certified B-Corp, founded to bridge the gap between education and employment for the 88 million working adults in the U.S. in need of upskilling for the future of work, Guild is an education platform that upskills workers and prepares companies for the future. Guild's industry-leading technology platform allows the nation's largest employers — including Chipotle, Target, Walmart and The Walt Disney Company — to offer strategic education and upskilling to their employees. Guild connects them to a learning marketplace of the nation's best universities and learning providers, as well as certificates in technical skills — with tuition paid by the company. Guild's payments and technology platform, curated learning marketplace, and advanced education and career coaching come together to help working adult learners advance in their education and career, debt-free. For more information, visit www.guildeducation.com.

Media Contact:
Wyatt Semanek
Public Relations Manager
press@sunrun.com

Investor & Analyst Contact:
Patrick Jobin
Senior Vice President, Finance & IR
investors@sunrun.com