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Ensuring Your Solar Training Program is Eligible for the GI Bill

  • Trainer & Educator
  • Solar Energy
  • Veterans
Ensuring Your Solar Training Program is Eligible for the GI Bill

Follow these steps to make sure your solar training program is eligible for GI Bill benefits.

The GI Bill is a package of benefits military veterans receive for education and career training to help them transition to civilian life. Ensuring that solar programs are among the eligible training options helps to expand access to solar career pathways for veteran candidates. 

The Solar Ready Vets program, led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), has worked with training providers across the country to expand eligibility of GI Bill benefits for solar training programs and implement streamlined solar credentialing pathways that recognize military experience.

If you lead a solar training program at a college, nonprofit, or other institution, there are a few simple steps to make sure veterans are allowed to use their GI Bill education benefits for your solar training program. This includes registering both your institution and the solar training program itself with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Register Your Solar Training Program for GI Bill Benefits

WEAMS (Web Enabled Approval Management System) is the registration system used by the

Department of Veterans Affairs to track education programs that are eligible for GI Bill benefits.

In order for veterans to use their GI Bill benefits for a training program, both the institution and the program itself must be registered with WEAMS. Follow these steps:

Step One

Check if your training institution is registered with the VA database. Visit the WEAMS institution search and ensure that your school / training institution appears in a search.

Step Two

If your institution is already listed: Select the “Programs” tab to see a list of all WEAMS-registered programs. If your solar program is not listed, proceed to step 3.

If your institution is not already listed: Using the NASAA directory, contact the Program Manager at your State Approving Agency for an application and instructions to register your institution. Once your institution is WEAMS-registered, proceed to step 3.

Step Three

If your solar program is not already listed: Using the NASAA directory, contact the Program Manager at your State Approving Agency for an application and instructions to register your solar course / program. For timely approval, we recommend that your application emphasize how learning outcomes of your solar program support job-readiness in a growing industry.

Once your solar program is registered in the VA Database, please let us know! Green Workforce Connect maintains a directory of GI Bill®-eligible solar training programs for veterans to identify opportunities.

Visual learner? Watch a video tutorial of the process created by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). 

Solar Ready Vets has also worked with Veterans Affairs to ensure that costs associated with NABCEP PV Certifications are reimbursable through the GI Bill. Learn more here. 

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information is available at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.