OAKLAND, Calif. — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has created the California Green Corps, a program to train at-risk young people for technical, construction and other skilled jobs in eco-friendly industries that are expected to help fuel economic recovery.

Announcing the corps on Monday in Sacramento, Schwarzenegger said he wants 1,000 16- to 24-year-olds from across the state to enlist in the pilot 20-month training session, which is to begin this summer.

The corps is to be funded with $10 million of the federal stimulus money destined for California via the U.S. Labor Department and with $10 million in matching money that's to be raised in public-private partnerships. CaliforniaVolunteers, headed by state Secretary for Service and Volunteering Karen Baker, is to oversee the program, which would the first of its size and scope in the country. Schwarzenegger announced the program after meeting with U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to talk about stimulus funding and job creation.

"This is exactly the kind of program that President Obama has envisioned when he put together his economic stimulus package, which is to create jobs, jobs and jobs," Schwarzenegger said. "The Green Corps will help underprivileged young people learn job skills while we create a well-trained workforce for clean technology and for the green economy."

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Secretary for Service and Volunteering Karen Baker, left.

By Peter Grigsby, Office of the Governor.

The new program, Schwarzenegger noted, touches on issues that have been key to his administration: the environment, the economy, education, engaging at-risk populations and public service.

Although specifics are pending, Green Corps recruits will be expected to continue their education and contribute to communities through volunteer work in exchange for receiving job training and help with placement.

The program draws heavily on concepts forged by the groups that established the Oakland Green Jobs Corps -- a coalition of social justice, environmental and other community organizations, trade unions, private companies and the city of Oakland -- this past October. Chief among its principles are that access to and engagement with a new green economy should be open to all comers -- and that participation by the poor and other at-risk segments of the population will help spur recovery.

"This is exactly the thing we've been calling for for some time -- I couldn't be happier," said Ian Kim, director of the Green-Collar Jobs Campaign of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which played a leading role in establishing the Oakland Green Jobs Corps. The Ella Baker Center was cofounded nearly 13 years ago by Van Jones, the environmental justice activist and author who was appointed last week to become the special advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

"This is a wonderful downpayment on our shared vision for a green economy that works for everyone," Kim told GreenBiz.com and GreenerBuildings.com.