Chicago Sun-Times: Near West Side nonprofit offers job training and lessons that are ‘bigger than solar panels’

Charles “C.J.” Doyle, a graduate of JIREH Workforce Solutions’ solar training program, demonstrates solar panel installation at the nonprofit’s Near West Side center. Arthur Maiorella/For the Sun-Times

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.

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Chicago Sun-Times, by Amy Yee