Near West Side nonprofit offers job training and lessons that are ‘bigger than solar panels’
The lessons at a solar industry training center on the Near West Side go beyond installing solar panels.
JIREH Workforce Solutions staff talk with students about “limiting beliefs” that hold people back, such as the misconception that someone is destined to repeat mistakes or can’t have a good career. In class, students write down their limiting beliefs, then burn them. Then they write down their “limitless beliefs.”
It’s part of a “transformation — believing in themselves and pushing themselves a little more,” Kynnée Wallace, JIREH’s executive director, said.
Founded in 2025, the nonprofit trains people for jobs in solar energy, as well as construction, carpentry and other fields. JIREH also offers career coaching, computer skills, financial literacy and more.
“Technical training alone isn’t enough,” Wallace said.
That’s especially so because the program focuses on people who need more support, such as young adults from low-income communities, veterans and people involved with the criminal justice system.
Kynnée Wallace, CEO and executive director of JIREH Workforce Solutions, sits in her office.
Arthur Maiorella/For the Sun-Times
Curtis Lawrence, of Englewood, graduated with JIREH’s first cohort in June and is finalizing a job offer. He spent eight months in prison and was released in December. JIREH’s staff treat students “like family, with respect. There’s no judgment and discrimination,” Lawrence said.
JIREH means “God will provide” in Hebrew. The nonprofit is secular, but its program offers optional Bible study. At JIREH, Biblical principles such as being a good person, loving others and being honest are core values.
JIREH is a “safe space” where people form deeper connections, Wallace said. “People become vulnerable. I’ve seen grown men cry.”
Austin resident Charles “C.J.” Doyle didn’t know much about solar energy before April. But after the 23-year-old graduated from JIREH’s program, he started working for Hammond-based Greentech Renewables to install solar panels on homes across Illinois.
JIREH’s program is “bigger than solar panels. It prepares you for life,” Doyle said. “To better yourself, you have to be mentally ready. Nothing good in life comes easy.”
Jonathan Franklin, of Englewood, also graduated with JIREH’s first cohort. The program was “intense but challenging. It pushed me in the best way,” he said. Franklin also met mentors and successful business people — experiences that “broaden your horizons.”
‘Bigger than solar panels’
JIREH opened its solar training center at 1528 W. Adams St. in the West Loop on April 30. The airy 10,000-square-foot space includes a training area to work with tools and solar panels, as well as classrooms and offices.
Its free 12-week program runs five days from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students get paid $13 an hour to take the course.
Each cohort can enroll 25 students, though JIREH expects about 20% attrition. The program’s 450 hours of classroom instruction and training include solar panel installation, introduction to power tools, first aid, CPR and Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. The program helps them earn professional certifications in solar panel installation, construction education, safety and more.
JIREH instructor Kevin Perry and student Javon Burns demonstrate how to wear a safety harness, during class.
Arthur Maiorella/For the Sun-Times
JIREH has two staff members who teach solar installation and construction skills. Three others teach life skills, career readiness and other continuing education courses. Staff includes a licensed therapist.
Students must be 18 or older, have a high school degree or equivalency and be able to to lift 50 to 70 pounds. Applicants fill out an online application, then take an in-person Test of Adult Basic Education in math and reading. If they pass, they interview with JIREH staff.
Among the first cohort, nine had jobs as of early August and six are still applying. Positions include solar panel installer, technicians and sales.
Graduates are employed with companies such as Greentech Renewables, Morton Grove-based Opis Renewables and Fresh Coast Solar in Chicago.
JIREH’s strict program only allows students to be late three times or have an unexcused absence twice.
Its first cohort started with 22 students, but 15 graduated in June. There are many barriers to finishing the program.
Students often struggle with math, which they haven’t done in years.
“It was a challenge sitting in a class,” Lawrence said. “I like to be outside and in the field.”
The program offers support beyond the classroom, such as issues with transportation, housing and food insecurity.
Franklin recalled a day when his car wouldn’t start. Rob Wallace, JIREH’s chief development officer, bought a new battery and installed it in his car that day.
“They will help you with whatever challenges you have in your personal life,” Franklin said.
Kynnée Wallace persuaded the mother of one student to let him stay with her for another two weeks.
“Gas, transportation, food — anything they can help with, they’re going to find a way to make it happen,” Doyle said about the staff.
Changing lifestyles
JIREH’s program is not just about learning technical skills but also getting on a better path in life. “You have to change your lifestyle and mindset,” Kynnée Wallace said.
“If you’re still around some of the same people, you have to move away, especially if you’ve had a history,” she said, referring to the criminal justice system.
Kynnée Wallace and her husband, Rob, founded JIREH after working on a similar solar training program with the 548 Foundation in Chicago for about two years. She recalled one graduate of 548 Foundation’s solar training program who was killed by gun violence in Chicago last year.
Even if a graduate gets a good-paying job, they might “still be smoking weed, going to strip clubs, gambling,” she said. “It’s important to minimize those habits as much as we can. We teach them other things, like investing, putting money into a 401(k).”
West Side resident Laquan Hawthorn graduated with JIREH’s first cohort. He was released from prison in May 2023 and expects to finish probation this summer. The Chicago native is considering jobs in Boston and Michigan.
“I don’t want to be in Chicago,” said Hawthorn, who has been in prison four times. “I want to focus on myself.”
JIREH graduates Jonathan Franklin, Curtis Lawrence, Charles Doyle and Laquan Hawthorn demonstrate installing solar panels at the nonprofit’s Near West Side training center.
Arthur Maiorella/For the Sun-Times
Solar industry challenges
JIREH is funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under the state’s Future Energy Jobs Act.
It also gets philanthropic support from solar energy company Summit Ridge Energy, based in Arlington, Virginia, and the Mark Raeder Forever Foundation, which started after Summit Ridge’s co-founder Mark Raeder died in 2025.
Since launching in 2017, Summit Ridge has raised more than $7 billion to finance about 250 solar facilities across the U.S.
The U.S. solar industry has taken a hit after President Donald Trump last year passed legislation that gutted federal support for renewable energy such as solar and wind.
Under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, construction on commercial solar projects had to start by July 4 in order to be eligible for a 30% federal tax credit, or start operating by the end of 2027.
After the passage of Trump’s legislation, forecasts showed the U.S. is on track to lose up to 55 gigawatts of solar by 2030. That includes a 14% collapse in Illinois, the nation’s 10th largest solar market, according to a 2025 report from the Solar Energy Industries Association.
JIREH’s recent graduates were unaware of federal efforts to stifle solar energy.
“Why wouldn’t you want solar?” Doyle said.
Wallace said solar companies are still hiring but are more cautious. JIREH remains optimistic about solar’s long-term future as electricity demand continues to grow.
“The need for a skilled workforce did not disappear because federal policy changed,” Wallace said. Clean energy projects are financed and under construction, she added.
“Long-term infrastructure investments will require trained workers for years to come,” she said.
Students participate in a class at JIREH Workforce Solutions.
Arthur Maiorella/For the Sun-Times
Under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2021, Illinois outlined a goal to be fueled entirely by clean energy by 2050, though progress has been slow.
In 2024, Illinois had 132,239 clean energy jobs across sectors, such as solar, electric vehicles, wind, battery storage and biofuels, according to a report from E2, a nonpartisan business group in Washington, D.C.
Federal policy can influence the pace of projects, but employers still need electricians, solar installers, project managers and technicians, Wallace said. There are also more clean energy jobs beyond solar in battery storage, electric vehicles infrastructure, building electrification and grid modernization, she added.
“We’re investing in people because workforce development has to outlast political cycles,” Wallace said.
For JIREH graduates, the program prepares them for getting a job, but it also helps create a better future for themselves and others.
With job stability, Lawrence sees himself buying a house and dropping off his two young sons at daycare.
“It’s going to be a great feeling,” he said.
As Franklin continues to apply for jobs, he’s thinking about his newborn daughter.
“Getting the best available job now will open doors for her,” he said.