The man sidled up to Dustin Hoffman's aimless young character in "The Graduate" and quietly advised, "Plastics."

Now, decades after the iconic film's release, a well-meaning adult might whisper, "Green energy."

But Vincent Randall isn't whispering. He is trumpeting the news about regional offerings for free, stimulus-funded training in green energy jobs -- a field amped these days with more buzz than an angry beehive.

Randall is nagged by the notion that people in these parts still have not heard about the CREATES program.

The free training is for people who are employed, underemployed or jobless, for the young, middle-aged and older. For employers too, said Randall, a regional program specialist for the Western Virginia Workforce Development Board.

Randall's mission includes spreading the word about the training and, ultimately, to connect trainees with potential employers or to help companies and their current workers get up to speed on green building.

His territory includes the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke. A colleague handles cities and counties south of Roanoke.

Every federally funded program needs an acronym. In this case, it is CREATES -- Construction, Retrofitting and Energy-efficiency Assessment Training and Employment System.

A $3.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor funds the regional effort, which extends south through the New River Valley to Bristol.

Christiansburg-based Community Housing Partners was the grant recipient. Partners include Virginia Tech, NewVA Corridor Technology Council, New River Community College, Wytheville Community College, Virginia Western Community College, the New River Center for Energy Research and Training, the New River/Mount Rogers Workforce Investment Board and Randall's outfit.

Opportunities for training range from one-day certification classes to a semester or two of course work at participating community colleges.

Who is eligible and who isn't?

Randall hesitates.

Yes, assessments are involved. But Randall said people should not fret about all that and take themselves out of the running without first talking to him about CREATES.

"The assessments look at aptitude, an ability to learn," he said.

Randall said that even if someone does not seem right for green energy training, there are other resources to which he can direct them.

And what about adults who might be anxious about the prospect of taking a college course, even during an era when faces in most community college classrooms range from peach-fuzzed to time-worn?

"When they pick up the phone to call me, I'm helping them through every step of the process," Randall said.

For those eligible for CREATES, the grant money will pay for their tuition and students might be able to complete one or two semesters of work before the two-year grant ends.

And then there are also those one-week and one-day trainings.

Randall said training is just the first step.

"My goal is to match them with green professions," he said. "You're hearing people saying, 'Green energy, green energy, green energy.' We're building a database of employers who might be interested in the people who receive the training."