Business View Caribbean | October 2022

40 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 10 Roach explains. “We recently funded Barbados Community College to start a photovoltaic program that students can complete and earn a Caribbean Vocational Qualification or National Vocational Qualification certificate from the Barbados TVET Council.” “We also collaborated with the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology to develop a photovoltaic course and renewable energy lab at the institution.” Operations The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic brought significant supply chain delays and price spikes. In some industries like automotive, supply lead times have extended from a few weeks to several months due to part shortages, especially microchips. In the solar industry, which relies on microchip technology in solar arrays, part shortages are causing significant supply chain bottlenecks and there is an issue.” Company Set-Up Williams Solar currently has forty employees, including engineers, management, administrative staff, and PV installers, all working within a collaborative and integrated corporate culture. “We have an open learning and collaborative environment at Williams Solar,” Roach says. “We encourage employees to share ideas and views and look for ways to continue improving their craft while fostering effective communication amongst each other and working together to achieve goals.” “Our culture is very open and friendly, and everyone works together to get the job done.” Finding quality employees is always challenging for companies that require skilled labor, especially in the trades. Williams Solar solves this challenge by working closely with local learning institutions to sensitize students to opportunities in the renewable energy industry.