Wayne Trace Solar
District Solar Brief  /  Workforce Pathways
Workforce Pathways

Real careers, built right here.

A district-owned array does more than power buildings — it shows students the careers that build, operate, and maintain the energy infrastructure all around them.

Wayne Trace students should not just see energy projects around them — they should learn how to build, operate, maintain, and benefit from them.
01Career Cards

Six careers a Wayne Trace graduate could pursue.

Each connects directly to the equipment on campus — and to employers operating in northwest Ohio today. These are growing technical fields, many reachable without a four-year degree.

⚡

Solar O&M Technician

Operations & Maintenance

Keeps utility-scale arrays running — inspection, cleaning, troubleshooting, and repair. A strong, in-demand technical career as solar capacity grows across the region.

Entry: trades, certification, or apprenticeship
🔌

Electrician

Skilled Trade

Wires arrays, panels, and building systems. A licensed trade with apprenticeship pathways and steady demand far beyond solar alone.

Entry: apprenticeship & licensure
📡

Inverter / SCADA Technician

Controls & Data

Maintains the inverters that convert solar power and the SCADA systems that monitor it — where electrical skill meets data and software.

Entry: certification or community college
🛸

Drone / Thermal Inspection Technician

Inspection Technology

Uses drones and thermal imaging to find faults across large arrays quickly. A modern, fast-growing niche blending aviation and energy.

Entry: certification & FAA Part 107
📊

Electrical Engineer

Engineering

Designs the systems — sizing, layout, interconnection, and performance. A four-year path for students who want to design what others build.

Entry: four-year engineering degree
💼

Project Manager / Energy Finance

Business & Finance

Runs the budgets, schedules, and financing that make projects happen — the business side of energy infrastructure.

Entry: business or finance degree
02How Students Get There

Many roads in — not just one.

Utility-scale solar O&M can be a strong technical career path, and students can reach it several ways. The living lab on campus is the on-ramp.

01

Skilled trades

02

Industry certifications

03

Apprenticeships

04

Community college

05

Four-year engineering

Exposure starts young: a student who reads the dashboard in 6th grade, runs the tilt-angle lab in 9th, and models the payback in 12th arrives at graduation already familiar with the field — and the local employers who hire in it.

Workforce Development

The array is the on-ramp. Let's build the pathway.

The workforce layer can be supported by local sponsors, grants, and partners — turning a school asset into a community career engine.

Invite local sponsors Explore the STEM model