One college in California is getting help from the state in order to train students for entry level jobs in the green industry. Visit http://www.experience.com/ to learn more about entry level jobs.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced that the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, Calif., will receive $815,000 from the California Clean Energy Workforce Training Program. The funding will be used to train students to work in utility-scale solar energy.

"This program represents the kind of innovative thinking needed to steer our economy toward a greener future while targeting the unemployed, underemployed and new workforce members at a time when we must do everything possible to help Californians return to work," Schwarzenegger said.

The certificate program, which is expected to start as early as January 2010, will provide students with entry level training for work on large-scale, commercial solar farms. That training differs from that which teaches students how to install individual solar panels on homes and businesses.

The utility solar training program will be part of the College of the Desert's energy enterprise center, which focuses on training students for jobs as wind turbine technicians. The grant itself will be used to cover costs for materials, curriculum development, employee placement programs and instructors.

Of the 34 organizations to receive a share of the $27 million in state money and private partnership matches, College of the Desert was the only organization located in Riverside County.

The federal Bureau of Land Management has received several proposals for solar plants in the Blythe and San Bernardino County areas. Each plant could create 400 initial construction jobs and about 70 permanent jobs.