Solar Ready Vets Fellowships

The Solar Ready Vets Fellowship was implemented by Hiring Our Heroes. The Fellowship connected transitioning service members with solar employers for on-the-job experience in leadership and corporate roles. It offered employers access to a natural recruitment pipeline of the best and brightest transitioning military talent as they explored civilian career options. 

The Solar Ready Vets Network was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); DOE funding for the program expired in October 2025 and has not been renewed. As a result, Fellowship positions are no longer available through Solar Ready Vets but this page provides an overview of how the program operated. Solar employers can continue to recruit through Hiring Our Heroes’s no-cost Corporate and Skills-Based Fellowship programs. 

Fellowship Program at a Glance:

• Highly qualified transitioning service members were placed with solar industry employers for 12 weeks of on-the-job training, intended to lead to employment.

• Candidates were interviewed and matched with participating companies based on their specific knowledge and skills and the preferences of both parties.

• The Corporate Fellowship was focused on professional roles requiring a college degree, professional certification, and/or leadership experience—such as project management, business development, operations and logistics, communications, policy, engineering, etc. A Skills-Based Fellowship program focused on developing the skills needed to launch successful careers in high-demand fields such as skilled trades and more. 

• Solar Ready Vets Fellows received a self-paced “Solar 101” curriculum, which offered an orientation to the technical, market, and policy dimensions of the solar industry.

There was no cost to employers or fellows to participate. As the Fellowship was a Department of Defense SkillBridge program, participating Fellows were still on active duty, and continued to receive their military salaries and benefits over the 12 weeks.

Typical Corporate Fellowship Roles

Fellows’ education, experience, and individual skill sets were commensurate with management / professional roles such as (but not limited to):

• Business development 
• Project management 
• Construction management 
• Policy / government relations
• Operations & logistics 
• Engineering / system design
• Research / data analysis 
• Communications 
• IT/Software 
• Human Resources 

Brian Desmond

Director of Operations, Standard Energy Solutions

“The level of candidates from Hiring Our Heroes was exceptional. All the candidates we met were highly professional individuals, each offering a wide range of experience leading teams to accomplish a goal/mission.”

How It Worked for Employers

1. Connect with a Hiring Our Heroes Program Manager

After an introductory call with Hiring Our Heroes, interested employers were assigned a Program Manager based on the geographic region they were targeting. The Program Manager would then share candidate resumes for the employer’s review ahead of each cohort, and offer support throughout the placement process. 

2. Review resumes, interview candidates, and make offers 

Employers independently set up interviews with fellowship candidates. Candidates typically interviewed with several employers. Employers made an offer to their selected fellowship candidate(s). 

3. Host your Solar Ready Vets Fellow(s)

Each cohort ran for 12 weeks, during which time the fellow was on the job with their employer from Monday -Thursday. This real-world experience was supplemented by professional development sessions led by Hiring Our Heroes on Fridays. Program Managers checked in with both the employers and fellows periodically to ensure a positive experience for all. Toward the end of the fellowship, employers were encouraged to speak directly with fellows and make offers to fellows they wish to bring on after the fellowship ends. 

Upon completion of the fellowship, 92% of fellows were offered full-time employment.

Nick De Vries

Senior Vice President of Technology & Asset Management at Silicon Ranch; U.S. Army Veteran

“The key thing to make the program work is executive interest. We know at every level of the company that this matters… we all understand that [hiring veterans] is important for our growth and important for our country”

Past Solar Ready Vets Fellowship Host Companies