Noel Sicard sat in the back row of the trailer-turned-classroom at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood last Thursday evening. The 40-year-old from Aurora was among seven working adults learning about solar power.

Their goal: gain skills for employment in the alternative energy field.

They and the 200-plus other students in Red Rocks' energy technology program are betting that green-collar jobs will provide job security in a deep recession - and long after it ends.

Economic experts agree.

"The new energy economy will offer tremendous opportunities to Coloradans," said Martin Shields, a regional economist at Colorado State University.

"When those technologies develop they will offer opportunities for workers across the spectrum, in areas such as product development, marketing, installation and customer satisfaction," he said.

This isn't the first time such courses have been in vogue. Thousands of students took solar energy classes in the 1980s after the energy crisis of the '70s. But interest died out by the late '90s.

Red Rocks started experimental classes in the field in 2006, and offers nine classes related to solar thermal and solar photovoltaic systems that convert energy from sunlight to electricity.

Today, the school is scrambling to expand to keep up with demand. Coming up: classes that teach maintenance of wind turbines.

Sicard said he wants to take advantage of the growth in alternative energy.

"I want to catch this alternative energy wave," he said. "I want to stay ahead of the curve and stay ahead of my competitors."

Other students are more interested in protecting the environment.

Brian Allison, 50, of Arvada, worked as a computer programmer for almost 20 years. He's installing solar thermal systems in homes.

"I wanted to get into something that meant more," he said.

"The potential is there" to make good money, he said. "But it's not about the money. It's more about the passion."