15TH ANNUAL

National Solar
Jobs Census 2024

Tracking the growth of the solar and storage
workforce nationwide and by state

November 2025

Solar Jobs
in 2024
Solar Jobs
by State
Jobs in
Energy Storage
Demographics
& Diversity
Workforce
Development
About
State of the Workforce | Solar Jobs by Sector | Manufacturing Workforce Trends | Solar Jobs by Market Segment | Long-Term Trends | Future Outlook | Recommendations

Solar Jobs in 2024

Solar energy and battery storage are expanding rapidly across the United States, generating clean and affordable energy while offering career opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Americans. As of 2024, there were 280,119 solar energy jobs in the United States. These jobs were in all 50 states across all levels of education and experience.

The 280,119 solar jobs include those who spend the majority of their time on solar-related work. When counting those who spent a plurality of their time on solar-related work and the rest of their time in other industries, the number of jobs rises to 370,556.1

An additional 93,487 people spent a plurality of their time on clean storage jobs (mainly battery storage), bringing the total to 464,053 workers in the solar and storage industry in 20242 (see Jobs in Battery Storage). The solar industry accounts for more jobs than any clean energy industry other than energy efficiency. It employs more than three times as many people as the coal industry. 

The 15th annual National Solar Jobs Census is based on a rigorous survey of energy firms administered by BW Research in the fourth quarter of 2024 and first quarter of 2025. This survey was conducted for the U.S. Department of Energy 2025 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) (see Methodology for more information).

State of the Solar Workforce

In 2024, the United States deployed a record-breaking 50 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity, more than double the capacity installed two years before and nearly four times the amount in 2019. More than 80% of the electricity capacity added to the grid in 2024 came from either solar energy or battery storage.3

Solar energy has come into its own as the most affordable and expedient way to meet our growing energy needs.4 It has become an essential part of the solution as the U.S. confronts rising electricity prices5 and a significant increase in electricity demand.6  

Despite the surge in deployment, the total number of solar jobs remained level year over year. (In 2023, there were 279,447 workers spending the majority of their time on solar.7) Labor efficiency has improved as the solar industry scales up and adopts new technologies.

Also, while utility-scale solar expanded, the residential market saw a downturn in 2024 with installations declining by 32%.8 Residential solar projects require far more workers than utility-scale solar projects relative to their size. As a result, the downturn in residential solar offset job gains from utility-scale employment. (For more discussion of these trends, see Labor Efficiency Gains in the Solar Industry.)

The number of people spending a plurality of their time on solar increased by two percent, adding about 6,000 jobs to reach 370,556 workers.9 The clean energy storage workforce grew by 4%, adding 3,905 jobs (see Jobs in Battery Storage). Energy efficiency comprised the greatest number of jobs at 2.4 million workers, a 2% increase over 2023.10

The Solar Jobs Census also tracks the number of solar jobs by state. California lost about 1,000 jobs in 2024 as state policy changes led to a downturn in its residential solar market. However, California remains the state with the most solar jobs by far, followed by Florida, Texas, New York, and Massachusetts. For the fourth year in a row, Nevada was the top-ranked state for solar jobs per capita. (To view an interactive state-by-state map, see Solar Jobs by State.)

Since these job totals are as of 2024, they do not reflect the seismic federal policy shifts that have occurred since a new presidential administration took office in January 2025, including the repeal of key incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and new regulatory hurdles that could slow deployment. However, we anticipate that this 2024 baseline will provide an important comparison point for how these policies have impacted the solar and battery energy storage industries when 2025 employment data is gathered in the coming year. The solar industry will be navigating many challenges ahead in order to continue meeting America’s urgent energy needs (see Future Solar Jobs Outlook, below).

A large majority of solar firms continue to report that it is difficult to find qualified workers, although hiring difficulty has eased somewhat compared to recent years (see Workforce Development). Effective workforce development strategies and a commitment to diversity and inclusion will be essential for firms to remain competitive (see Demographics and Diversity).

Solar Jobs by Sector

The Solar Jobs Census breaks down jobs by industry sector, based on a solar company’s primary area of focus.11 About two-thirds of all solar jobs (178,713) are in the installation and project development sector, which includes the firms that construct residential, commercial, and utility-scale projects. These jobs include workers directly involved in solar installation (such as construction workers and electricians), along with many other supporting roles, such as jobs in sales, marketing, software, management, and finance.

Other solar jobs are in wholesale trade and distribution (34,625), manufacturing (32,491), and operations and maintenance (O&M) (21,833). Manufacturing jobs are typically at factories producing domestic solar modules, racking, trackers, inverters, or other components. Wholesale trade and distribution jobs include roles in logistics, warehousing, and related tasks.

Jobs in O&M are in charge of maintaining and cleaning solar arrays after they go online, as well as related tasks like landscaping.12 An “All Others” category (12,457 jobs) includes jobs at research organizations, nonprofits, and other miscellaneous areas.

Across all sectors, the number of solar jobs in 2024 remained roughly level with 2023. Wholesale trade and distribution and O&M saw slight increases year over year, at 4% and 2%, respectively; manufacturing and the “All Others” category each declined 2%.

Over time, the number of installation and project development jobs has grown along with the overall solar workforce, from about 44,000 jobs in 2010 to 162,000 in 2019 to 178,000 in 2024. The number of O&M jobs has grown as the industry deploys more megawatts of solar panels, nearly doubling from 11,164 jobs in 2019 to 21,833 in 2024.

The breakdown of jobs by occupational category provides more information on the diversity of job roles within each sector. While jobs by sector are classified according to company, occupational categories reflect individual job roles. At manufacturing firms, for example, about one-third of workers are directly involved in production, while others are in sales, administrative, installation, or management roles.

The IRA included major new incentives for domestic solar manufacturing, which led to a boom in new facilities constructing solar modules and other components. U.S. solar module manufacturing capacity reached 42 GW by the end of 2024, up from only 8 GW before the passage of the IRA. By June 2025, capacity reached 59 GW, more than enough to meet all U.S. solar installation needs domestically (though, in practice, many facilities are still ramping up production). Also, the number of facilities that produce racking increased more than 50% since the passage of the IRA.13

To date, U.S. companies mainly source solar module components (ingots, wafers, and cells) from factories overseas. Since 2024, however, two domestic cell manufacturing facilities have opened, totaling 2 GW in capacity. The U.S.-based company First Solar uses a separate technology, domestic thin film production, which does not require these components.14

The number of solar manufacturing jobs remained steady in 2024, largely due to few of the new facilities being fully online by the end of the year. The 32,491 job total does not include the construction workers who built the new factories, which likely accounts for thousands of additional jobs. 

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) estimates that if all the announced solar and storage facilities came online, the manufacturing job total would rise to 75,000 by the end of the decade.15 However, new legislation and policies under the Trump Administration shortened and dramatically complicated key incentives for domestic solar energy manufacturing.16 Analysts expect that domestic manufacturing will stall in future years and some facilities will be closed or sold.17

Solar Jobs by Market Segment

Among the installation and project development firms, the Solar Jobs Census also estimates jobs by market segment—residential, commercial, community solar, and utility-scale. The breakdown by market segment offers a window into where solar jobs can be found and how the market is shifting over time.18

Nearly half of the jobs in the installation and project development sector (79,633 or 45%) are at residential firms. As noted above, residential solar is a much more labor-intensive market. However, utility-scale solar represents the vast majority of installed capacity in 2024 (about 82%).19 The number of utility-scale jobs as a portion of overall solar employment reached an estimated 58,351 jobs (33%) in 2024. Another 25,823 jobs (14%) were in commercial solar, while 14,906 jobs were in community solar (8%).

In recent years, solar job growth has been driven by the utility-scale sector. The number of utility-scale jobs increased by 73% since 2021. Within that period, residential jobs declined by 6%, commercial jobs declined by 25%, and community solar jobs declined by 4%. (Overall, jobs in installation and project development increased 10% since 2021.)

The growth in utility-scale solar jobs tracks the dramatic increase in utility-scale capacity. In 2024, utility-scale installations reached 41 GW, a 33% increase from 2023. This was driven by several factors. More than ever before, electric utilities and corporate offtakers are turning to solar as a way to meet energy demand. Utility-scale solar is competitively priced and can be installed much faster than alternatives such as natural gas power plants. Additionally, solar companies moved past the supply chain bottlenecks of previous years and were able to procure the modules they needed to complete installations.20

Solar energy deployment expanded nationwide across many states and regions in 2024. The states with the highest increases in solar capacity are the same three states with the highest number of solar jobs: Texas, California, and Florida.21

Meanwhile, residential installations declined 31% in 2024 with a total of 4.7 GW installed. This happened for several reasons. One important factor was higher interest rates, which decreased the incentives for potential customers to go solar. As a consequence, large firms including SunPower (in 2024) and Sunnova and Solar Mosaic (in 2025) have filed for bankruptcy in response to economic pressures.22

Changes in state-level policies left a marked impact on the residential market segment, especially in California, the nation’s largest solar market. Under California’s revised net metering policy (known as NEM 3.0), new residential consumers in California are compensated at a much lower rate for the power they send back to the grid.23 With compensation about 75% less than under the previous net metering policy, those who do purchase solar now have a much greater incentive to pair it with battery storage.24 Following a rush to install new solar systems before the new policy took effect in April 2023, residential solar installations fell in the state by more than 50% in 2024, while the percentage of customers installing batteries greatly increased.25

The pace of solar job growth has slowed since the heady days when solar was an emerging industry. Between 2010 and 2019, solar jobs increased by 167% with more than 150,000 jobs added. Then, in the five-year period between 2019 and 2024, solar jobs grew by 12% while installed solar capacity increased by 286%. 

These trends point to an industry that is becoming more labor-efficient across the board. In the residential market alone, SEIA analysis estimates that labor efficiency increased roughly 40% since 2020.26 The median size of residential installations has risen in recent years, likely encouraging efficiency.27 Utility-scale solar is also seeing efficiency gains. New technologies (for example, digital scheduling tools, remote monitoring, and modular components) can help utility-scale companies overcome labor shortages in an undersupplied market.28 Robots and AI are also starting to be deployed at solar projects alongside human workers.29

Increased labor efficiency is good news, making the solar industry more competitive and able to deliver energy at a lower cost. It helps the industry address long-standing concerns with finding enough skilled workers to build projects. This does not mean the need for highly trained workers will go away; on the contrary, the need is expected to increase as automation takes over some of the repetitive tasks. Residential solar remains an essential part of the renewable energy economy, providing manifold benefits along with job opportunities for the communities it serves. The best path forward is to increase solar deployment using the full range of solutions, from small rooftop arrays to utility-scale.

Outlook for the Future

In 2025, the incoming Trump Administration and new Congress drastically scaled back support for solar and other renewables in favor of fossil fuels. In July, the president signed legislation30 repealing many of the key tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that were expected to encourage solar energy growth over the coming decade.

The new law sunsets the clean energy Production Tax Credit and Investment Tax Credit which had previously been extended through 2033. Now, solar and wind projects must start construction by July 2026 or else be placed in service by the end of 2027 to be eligible for the credits. The law also ends a tax credit for residential solar in December 2025 and cuts several other incentives for energy efficiency and clean vehicles.31

Other administrative actions will further discourage solar deployment, including a directive requiring the Secretary of the Interior to review federal approvals for solar and wind projects.32 The administration also ended funding for programs that supported solar energy deployment in underserved communities.33

Photo Courtesy of Nexamp

Despite all this, solar energy has a number of advantages that bode well for the industry in years to come. Utility-scale solar is one of the most cost-competitive sources of electricity; it is cheaper and faster to build solar than alternatives like nuclear power or natural gas.34 Electricity prices are rising faster than inflation, creating pressure to add new energy sources to the grid.35 The rapid construction of data centers, increased electric vehicle use, and construction of new manufacturing facilities will lead to a surge in electricity demand.36 The new legislation also preserved tax credits for energy storage through 2033. However, complicated restrictions have been added to these credits and guidance is pending on how they will be implemented.37

Industry analysts estimate that by 2030, solar deployment could be reduced by over 20% compared to projected growth before the legislation was enacted, due to tax credit changes and other federal actions harmful to the solar industry.38 Within the next year, there will be a rush to install new solar projects before the tax credits expire, which could mute the impacts of legislation in the near term. Analysts expect both utility-scale and residential solar deployment will be roughly level in 2025.39

This suggests that solar jobs numbers will remain about the same in 2025 even as firms continue to find ways to improve efficiency. Jobs will likely keep increasing in emerging industries like battery storage as well as in energy efficiency fields.

The solar industry faces other challenges that predate the federal legislation, such as backlogs in interconnection queues for new solar projects (although the pipeline may be speeding up over the past year40). Community opposition to solar projects is becoming more common and prompting local restrictions on solar development.41 In the residential market, cumbersome permitting and interconnection requirements slow down installations and make solar energy orders of magnitude more expensive than in other countries.42

Notably, however, firms responding to the Solar Jobs Census survey highlighted the challenging economy as their most prominent short-term concern. When asked about factors that contribute to the difficulty of growing a profitable business, half of respondents cited poor demand as very significant, and one-third cited lack of capital. A much lower percentage cited a lack of qualified talent, permitting and interconnection delays, or policy challenges as very significant factors. These results are in sharp contrast to 2023, when interconnection delays, policy challenges, and permitting delays topped the list of factors affecting business growth.

Recommendations

In this context, we offer the following recommendations to help support a robust solar industry and workforce:

1) Make the case for solar energy and other renewable energy solutions. Solar firms, citizens, and community leaders can spread the word about the benefits of solar energy through trade associations, political activism, and community engagement. While solar energy remains generally popular, many people are not aware of how fast it is growing and providing opportunities for affordable energy and jobs.

2) Engage with decision makers at the state and local levels. Even without federal support, state and local jurisdictions often have a decisive impact on the growth of the solar industry and workforce. Citizens can work with state legislatures to set strong clean energy goals and supportive policies. For example, Solar United Neighbors launched a pilot organizing program for community members to support utility-scale solar siting in Indiana; it has since expanded that effort to Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Engaging with public utility commissions is an important, often under-the-radar avenue for change. IREC’s state-level regulatory engagement efforts are helping to increase the penetration of distributed energy resources on the grid. 

3) Support efforts to cut red tape for residential solar. Streamlined permitting and inspection will reduce the cost of solar projects and increase the amount of rooftop solar deployment. Programs like SolSmart43 have helped hundreds of local jurisdictions remove impediments to solar construction and engage with communities to manage growth. The SolarAPP+ platform is a free tool local governments can use to automate and streamline the permitting process.

4) Engage with communities to support the growth of a skilled workforce. To address labor shortages in the solar industry, firms can partner with community organizations, educational institutions, workforce development boards, and other entities on ways to hire and retain workers. They can develop Registered Apprenticeship programs,44 internships, and on-the-job training to help ensure that worker skills match company needs. (For more details, see Workforce Development.)

5) Commit to workforce diversity and inclusion. Dedicated support for a diverse and inclusive workforce will help attract skilled employees, improve retention, and ensure that solar firms are responsive to the communities they serve. (For more details, see Demographics and Diversity.)

Footnotes

  1. For example, if a worker spends 30% of their time on solar energy, 20% of their time on battery storage, and 10% of their time on nuclear power, this person would not be classified as a “majority-time” solar worker. However, they would be included in the 370,556 workers who spend a plurality of their time on solar related tasks.
  2. Clean storage jobs include battery storage, pumped hydro storage, mechanical storage, thermal storage, and biofuel storage.
  3. SEIA/Wood Mackenzie, U.S. Solar Market Insight Q3 2025 (Sept. 8, 2025), https://seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-q3-2025/.
  4. Will Norman, Solar Is the World’s Cheapest Source of Electricity, Research Shows, PV Tech (Oct. 9, 2025), https://www.pv-tech.org/solar-is-the-worlds-cheapest-source-of-electricity-research-shows/ (accessed Nov. 13, 2025).
  5. Majd Al-Waheidi & Henry Larson, An Energy Expert Explains Why Electricity Prices Keep Climbing, NPR (Oct. 6, 2025) https://www.npr.org/2025/10/06/nx-s1-5557166/electric-power-bills-grid-costs-inflation (accessed Nov. 13, 2025).
  6. Dan Gearino, Which States Are Getting Hit Hardest by Electricity Price Increases?, Inside Climate News (Sept. 25, 2025) https://insideclimatenews.org/news/25092025/inside-clean-energy-electricity-rate-hikes-by-state/ (accessed Nov. 13, 2025).
  7. Interstate Renewable Energy Council, National Solar Jobs Census 2023 (Sept. 2024), available at https://irecusa.org/programs/solar-jobs-census-2023/.
  8. SEIA/Wood Mackenzie, U.S. Solar Market Insight Q3 2025 (Sept. 8, 2025).
  9. In 2023, there were 364,544 workers spending a plurality of their time on solar.
  10. E2, Clean Jobs America 2025, https://cleanjobsamerica.e2.org/.
  11. Jobs are categorized based on the firm where an employee works, rather than the employee’s individual activities.
  12. Some O&M positions are at installation and project development firms rather than at companies specifically dedicated to O&M. In these cases, they are classified as installation and project development jobs.
  13. SEIA, Solar & Storage Supply Chain Dashboard, https://seia.org/research-resources/solar-storage-supply-chain-dashboard/ (accessed Oct. 13, 2025).
  14. Ibid.
  15. Ibid.
  16. The statute enacted on July 4, 2025 preserved the Section 45X tax credit for domestic clean energy manufacturing. However, it sunset other tax incentives that allow installers to claim credit for using domestic solar modules in their projects. In addition, a new restriction on using components from “foreign entities of concern” could make it more difficult for manufacturers to claim a tax credit if the components of their products are not sourced domestically.
  17. SEIA/Wood Mackenzie, U.S. Solar Market Insight Q3 2025 (Sept. 8, 2025).
  18. The survey of energy firms used for the Solar Jobs Census does not include a question about market segments. Instead, these figures are arrived at by applying employment intensity figures to installation data over a three-year rolling average.
  19. In 2024, of the approximately 50 GW total installed solar capacity, 4.7 were in the residential segment, 3.8 MW in non-residential, and 41.3 MW utility-scale. See SEIA/Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Report 2024 Year in Review (March 11, 2025), https://seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-2024-year-in-review/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  20. SEIA/Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Report 2024 Year in Review (March 11, 2025), https://seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-2024-year-in-review/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  21. Ibid.
  22. Jeff St. John, Sunnova and Mosaic bankruptcies highlight deepening rooftop solar woes, Canary Media (June 11, 2025), https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/sunnova-mosaic-bankruptcies-industry-challenges (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  23. Galen Barbose, One Year In: Tracking the Impacts of NEM 3.0 on California’s Residential Solar Market, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (May 2024), https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/ca_nem_3.0_technical_brief.pdf.
  24. Ryan Kennedy, More Than Half of California Solar Customers to Include Battery Storage, PV Magazine USA (July 19, 2024), https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/07/19/more-than-half-of-california-solar-customers-to-include-battery-storage/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  25. SEIA/Wood Mackenzie, U.S. Solar Market Insight Q3 2025 (Sept. 8, 2025); Ryan Kennedy, More Than Half of California Solar Customers to Include Battery Storage, PV Magazine USA (July 19, 2024), https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/07/19/more-than-half-of-california-solar-customers-to-include-battery-storage/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  26. SEIA analysis provided to IREC.
  27. Galen Barbose, et al., U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage Data, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Sept. 2025), https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/us-distributed-solar-and-storage (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  28. McKinsey & Company, Build Together: Rethinking Solar Project Delivery (June 9, 2023), https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/electric-power-and-natural-gas/our-insights/build-together-rethinking-solar-project-delivery (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  29. Rose Morrison, The Robot Revolution: Will Solar Installers Be Left Behind?, Renewable Energy Magazine (May 22, 2025), https://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/rose-morrison/the-robot-revolution-will-solar-installers-be-20250522 (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  30. 119th Congress, H.R.1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Congress.gov (July 4, 2025) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1 (accessed November 7, 2025).
  31. Ysabelle Kempe, A Cheat Sheet to Clean-Energy Tax credit Changes Under Trump’s New Law, Canary Media (July 14, 2025), https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/tax-credit-changes-trump-law (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  32. Brad Plumer, Interior Dept. to Put Wind and Solar Projects Through Stricter Political Review, New York Times (July 17, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/climate/interior-dept-wind-solar.html (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  33. Julia Simon and Jeff Brady, EPA Plans to End a Program That Makes Solar Power Available to Low-Income Americans, NPR (Aug. 8, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/08/08/nx-s1-5493300/solar-climate-change-trump-epa (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  34. Jonathan Touriño Jacobo, US Utility-Scale Solar PV LCOE Tightens to US$38-78/MWh in 2025 – Lazard, PV Tech (June 17, 2025), https://www.pv-tech.org/us-utility-scale-solar-pv-lcoe-tightens-to-us38-78-mwh-in-2025-lazard/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  35. Scott Horsley, Electricity Prices Are Climbing More Than Twice as Fast as Inflation, NPR (Aug. 16, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/08/16/nx-s1-5502671/electricity-bill-high-inflation-ai (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  36. Robert Walton, US Electricity Demand Will Grow 50% by 2050, Electrical Manufacturer Study Finds, Utility Dive (April 7, 2025), https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-electricity-demand-will-grow-50-by-2050-electrical-manufacturer-study/744575/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  37. Kelly Pickerel, Energy Storage Spared by HR1, but Can It Thrive Alone?, Solar Power World (July 28, 2025), https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2025/07/hr1-spares-energy-storage-but-can-it-thrive-alone/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  38. SEIA analysis provided to IREC.
  39. SEIA/Wood Mackenzie, U.S. Solar Market Insight Q3 2025 (Sept. 8, 2025). Under a “base case” scenario, new solar deployment would total 246 GW between 2025 and 2030, which is 4% lower than the projection before the legislation was enacted. A more pessimistic low-case scenario projects capacity growth of 202 MW by 2030, a reduction of 18%.
  40. Ryan Kennedy, Solar Leads as U.S. Grid Interconnection Agreements Grow 33%, PV Magazine USA (Aug. 28, 2025), https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/08/28/solar-leads-as-u-s-grid-interconnection-agreements-grow-33/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  41. Diana DiGangi, Local Opposition to Renewable Energy Projects ‘Widespread and Growing’: Columbia University Report, Utility Dive (June 12, 2024), https://www.utilitydive.com/news/local-opposition-renewable-energy-projects-growing-sabin-report/718817/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  42. Bill McKibben, Rooftop Solar Is a Miracle. Why Are We Killing It With Red Tape?, Mother Jones (September/October 2025), https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2025/07/rooftop-solar-grid-power-green-permits/ (accessed Nov. 14, 2025).
  43. Funding for this U.S. Department of Energy program, co-led by IREC and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) since 2016, was terminated in October 2025. IREC and its partners are exploring avenues to continue offering these technical assistance services to local governments and regional organizations.
  44. For more information on apprenticeships, explore resources on Green Workforce Connect, IREC’s workforce development hub: https://explore.greenworkforceconnect.org/resource-hub?resourceTags=Apprenticeships.