LA JOLLA, Calif. -- From developing games for cell phones to working on making businesses "green," there are jobs in San Diego for those about to acquire new skills, according to a career trend study released Wednesday by the University of California, San Diego Extension.

"What we're learning is if you are willing to learn new tricks, there are jobs here," said Henry DeVries, a marketing professor at the La Jolla-based school.

The study lists the top 10 hot career trends for college graduates and examined what jobs were available in the area, what skills employers were looking for and what certificates students were seeking, DeVries said.

The study found that the top career trend is casual game development. These are games that are played online and on mobile phones by people who do not consider themselves gamers or fans of video games, DeVries said.

"'That's something that has really heated up," he said. "We're now offering a whole certificate on that and those jobs are here in San Diego."

Another popular career trend is called "sustainable business practices and the greening of all jobs" and involves becoming the type of expert who can help companies become more environmentally friendly.

Another popular job trend is teaching adult learners. Enrollment is increasing because job-seekers, unable to find work in their preferred fields, are going back to school to gain experience in other areas, the study states.

The study was regionally based and doesn't necessarily reflect the nation's trends, DeVries said.

For example, the No. 2 career trend is assisting in clinical trials, which is popular locally because of the many research facilities and hospitals in San Diego, he said.

UC San Diego Extension listed the top 10 new trends as follows:
1. Casual game development
2. Clinical trials design and management for oncology
3. Data mining, to help businesses "search for clues to increase revenues and decrease expenses"
4. Embedded engineering, which "may provide new career options for software developers willing to learn some new tricks"
5. Geriatric healthcare
6. Occupational health and safety
7. Specialized Spanish/English translation
8. Sustainable business practices and the greening of all jobs
9. Teaching adult learners
10. Teaching English as a foreign language