California's Green Corps Takes Off

by Climate Weekly – March 17, 2009

An unprecedented program in California that will help underprivileged youth learn skills that will make them viable candidates for green jobs is being launched.

The Green Corps, which is funded through federal economic stimulus money and public-private partnerships, will place at least 1,000 at-risk youth, ranging in age from 16 to 24, into green jobs over the next 20 months. The program, which is sponsored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, will run on an estimated $20 million to start.

According to the governor's office, in the next 10 years, California will need tens of thousands of skilled workers to fill green-economy jobs.