Career Advice & News Center

Green business managers in California are looking to at-risk youth to help them install solar panels, and the relationship may prove symbiotic for both parties.

Kwan Smith is a 19-year-old who has been living in an Oakland homeless shelter after a recent rash of bad events, but responded to an advertisement from a local employment collaborative program that gave her the skills to work with solar business managers in a growing industry, reports the Mercury News. She now puts up solar panels in residential installations for homeowners who value the savings offered by the environmentally friendly devices.

"It's about loving what you do and I get a great feeling from wiring up a panel that gets energy from the sun," Smith told the news provider. "I can change the world by helping [reduce] global warming."

Her mentor, Kevin Good, has offered her the skills she says could lead her to own her own business or become a business manager in green industries, according to the report.

These types of programs could benefit both business managers in California and prospective employees in a state with a double-digit unemployment rate.

In Southern California, San Diego hopes that it is primed to be the place for green technology in the state, recently hosting a forum on jobs in the industry, reports the Epoch Times.

"The situation is difficult with the economy right now, but we do see a movement to create green jobs here in San Diego," said Congresswoman Susan Davis while opening the event, according to the newspaper. She added that much of the $19 million the state received in stimulus money would be used to help business managers in California develop a stronger job market.