MARIETTA - There could be as many as 1,135 entry level jobs in power plants in the region available in the next five years, and local people have more opportunities than ever to receive training.

The Washington County Career Center has expanded its four-year-old power plant technology classes to three locations, with all classes to start Sept. 28.

"For folks looking to get training for a career, the power industry is, I think, their greatest opportunity," said Jim Siegfried, industrial training coordinator at the career center and a member of the Mid-Ohio Valley Maintenance Council. "There are going to be a lot of jobs in the next one to five years."

That's due to the large number of those becoming eligible for retirement at the plants and the planned construction of new plants, even with the economic downturn.

"One of the good things about this industry is that you can't import power from China," said Siegfried. "You have to produce power in the United States, so there's a lot of stability."

The career center is offering classes at its campus in Marietta, as well as in Ravenswood, W.Va., and Belle Valley, for the first time. Three classes are being offered in Ravenswood, due to the demand, Siegfried said. The 1,135 jobs expected to need filled in the next few years were estimates from the three companies that have plants in the Mid-Ohio Valley region: American Municipal Power-Ohio, American Electric Power and Allegheny Energy.

The U.S. Department of Labor also calls the job outlook for the field "very good" and predicts that "half of the industry's workforce is expected to retire in the next 10 years."

The workforce in power plants is older than in many industries due to an emphasis in the 1990s on cost-cutting among utilities, according to the department. That led to hiring freezes and laying off younger workers then and an aging workforce now.

Adding a boost to hiring will be new plants expected to continue to be built in response to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which provides subsidies, according to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The median salary for power plant operators is $55,000.

The Washington County Career Center classes are held four times a week and last for one year, with the program designed by local power plant officials.

"The course we have is very focused on the skills someone needs to do the work once they get hired," said Siegfried. "And the plants are the labs. They'll be in the plants all the time."

The classes are designed to get participants into entry-level operator jobs, but from there they can move into maintenance, electrical work and many options within the plants, he said.