The green-jobs training pilot program, held at the South Philadelphia social-service center, is part of a federal initiative to get people outfitted for a new career and back to work.

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Fueled by $225,000 in federal stimulus money, the program hopes to recruit, train, and, by year’s end, place 100 unemployed people in green jobs – weatherizing homes, installing solar panels, constructing green buildings.

The next two hours would reveal the hopes and needs of job seekers as they faced the hurdles of training for a new national workforce.

In the gym, Manuel sat with 20 others, mostly African American men, who have been hardest hit by joblessness in Philadelphia. In 2008, black male unemployment stood at 15 percent – and that was before the collapse of the job market. Most of these unemployed were between the ages of 25 and 54.

Altogether, four orientations last week drew 34 applicants. Some held advanced college degrees. Some were making their way in halfway houses.

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