With experienced industry professionals thinking about retirement, there is an urgency across the board for trained workers of all skill levels—from the roustabout to the engineer. Educational institutes are stepping up to the plate to attract prospects to fill the positions.

Undergraduate training

In the past, many field technicians working in the energy industry were not required to have a college education—but that’s no longer the case. The industry is looking for prospective field employees to apply with certifications and basic industry knowledge.

Community colleges are adapting programs and, at times, creating new programs to help serve as a steppingstone into the industry.

The School of Energy at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico, has been around for more than 10 years and only continues to grow.

“We offer seven to eight associate degrees with various combinations of courses dedicated to power plants, coal mines, refineries, oil and gas production, as well as a host of certificates and classes,” Randy Pacheco, dean of the School of Energy at San Juan College, tells Midstream Business.

The college’s curriculum appeals to both industry and students.

“We build classes specifically for the industry, so if you are looking for an entry-level class in artificial lift, wellhead or separators and tanks, we have built those courses,” Pacheco says.

The educational system has failed to look at the energy industry as a job opportunity for students, he says, and there is a general lack of curriculum that teaches necessary skills and prepares students for those jobs.

San Juan College has received funding to build a new $15 million School of Energy facility dedicated to energy education, of which BP America donated about one-third.

On the lease

The natural gas compression and lease operator classes actually offer on-the-job training during the first semester.

“We have to be sure this is something the students enjoy,” he says. “It is their career. If they are not interested, this is thetime to choose a different career path [at the end of the first semester]. We don’t want to take their money or their time.”

There is also a $1 million-plus simulator on campus to provide process operators and maintenance mechanics the opportunity to practice what they have learned in the classroom.

Pacheco sees the opportunity for the School of Energy to continue to grow and prosper.

“We are always strengthening the curriculum in our programs,” Pacheco says. “It is critical that we stay responsive to the needs of industry, and that we offer a state-of-the-art curriculum that incorporates state-of-the-art production technology. When students walk out of our school, they can obtain a position that is strategic to the energy business.”

“With the new facility, we envision doubling and tripling in size and training students at our school who are from other basins such as North Dakota, Pennsylvania and East Texas,” he continues. “This is an industry that is extremely hungry for talented people, and we see this as a real opportunity to recruit throughout the United States.”

Stark State College in North Canton, Ohio, has hit the ground running to try and keep up with the changes happening
in the heart of the Utica shale.

The college is one of four in a consortium that includes Navarro College in Texas and Pennsylvania’s Westmoreland County Community College and Pennsylvania College of Technology. All are funded by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration under the ShaleNET grant program, which is in its second round of funding. The first grant awarded to Westmoreland provided non-credit training for oil and gas careers with 20 recognized training providers in four states.

Mobile as possible

“Last summer, the four-college consortium approached the Department of Labor and applied to have a second grant that would build off of that non-credit training and make it into a stackable, credit-based curriculum—and that is what we have done,” Kathleen Steere, Stark State’s coordinator of oil and gas programs tells Midstream Business.

“We have continued to offer the non-credit training, but we are also doing one-year certificates, two-year degrees as well as having matriculation into a bachelor’s degree. The bachelor’s degree can be completed online through Pennsylvania College of Technology, thus making it as mobile for the student as possible. They can move throughout the
ShaleNET college hubs or move throughout the industry and still be able to continue their education.”

The two-year program that leads to a bachelor’s degree is only in its first semester, but Steere is optimistic. The program had 36 enrolled for the first fall semester and Steere said enrollment will be about 60 students for the spring semester. The program will graduate its first class next summer. While the two-year degree is a long-term commitment, the college has short-term options that get students trained and in the field working. Welder’s helper and floor hand are two noncredit classes that get students to work fast.

The one-year certificates the college offers include pipeline technician, process technician, petroleum mechanic and instrumentation electronic technician. The two-year degrees include industrial process operation, petroleum industrial mechanic, petroleum technology with a pipeline major or an instrumentation electronic major.

Ohio’s support

“We have had tremendous support from the state of Ohio, from our governing bodies and our president here, Dr. Para Jones, has been extremely supportive of this,” Steere says. “They recognize there are a lot of jobs and a lot of activity
in the area, and so we have been able to secure a $10 million grant from the state of Ohio to build a facility in downtown Canton. We have also been able to leverage the ShaleNET grant and get a $500,000 grant from the Timken
Foundation to provide additional equipment.”

The school’s recruiting efforts have already begun with the program’s case manager scheduling tours for high
schools this spring and networking with school counselors to discuss the industry-specific programs for graduating
high school students.

“Here at Stark, we plan to have this sustainable by the time the grant ends; by sustainable I mean have enough student enrollment and support that we can continue to offer the lab facilities like we are currently doing,” Steere says. “I see this as not only shale-play training but training for the conventional oil and gas industry, which has been in Ohio for more than 150 years. We have a very graying work force here in the state of Ohio. This training is not just focused on shale, it is focused on all oil and gas training across the board. With those retiring, this is a great way for companies to come in and get additional workers.”

The long-term goal for the program is to offer five different pathways into the oil and gas industry. Currently four are offered, and Steere plans to add a production program or lease operator well-tender style program in the future. There is also the hope that 30 students can start each of the programs each semester.

The traditional path

The introduction of oil and gas technical programs at community colleges has opened doors for people from all walks of life to enter the industry, but many others follow the traditional, professional path of a four-year university.

The University of Texas (UT) at Austin has seen its petroleum engineering program grow from 200 students in 2002 to close to 600 currently.

“For fall 2013, we received more than 1,500 applications for less than 100 available seats,” Jon Olson, associate professor for UT’s Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department tells Midstream Business. “Given the continuing high level of activity in the industry and a need for more petroleum engineers, we expect applications to remain at this level or increase, but it is hard to predict too far into the future. We would like to hold our enrollment fairly flat given our current number of faculty and limited space.”

UT continues to “encourage talented high school students to consider petroleum engineering and UT-Austin.” Recruiters are using social media, alumni and traditional efforts while the faculty is providing training to STEM (science,
technology, engineering and mathematics) teachers.

Students at the university have the opportunity for summer research internships through the university.

“In addition to summer internships, which are a crucial part of most of our students’ career development and education, we have two summer field camps for students to get real world, hands-on experience,” Olson says. “One of these is generously sponsored by Halliburton and the other by Shell.”

Olson said that 85% of the students are coming out of college employed and 9% are continuing on to their graduate studies.

Industry involvement

Besides internships offered though the university, energy majors and others offer internship opportunities to students at all education levels. BP hosts approximately 300 interns from across the U.S. every summer, according to Aimee Close, projects and programs manager for U.S. university relations at BP Americas.

These opportunities are not just limited to college students. BP also has several initiatives that target high school students.

“In addition to supporting several local STEM initiatives across the U.S., BP annually hosts select high school students for Engineering Day,” Close tells Midstream Business. “Students descend upon the BP Westlake [Houston] campus for a full day of exposure to the petroleum industry through hands-on activities, tours and demonstrations led by recent college graduate hires called ‘Challengers.’”

Prospective candidates should be well-rounded in and out of the classroom and while STEM-focused majors are primary candidates, Close says BP looks at business majors as well and has a degree matcher on the company’s website to “compare their degree with areas of interests within the company.”

Close notes that about 50% of the interns go on to receive full-time job offers and additional internships.

“According to BP’s Global Energy Outlook 2030, the global demand for energy is expected to rise by 36% between
2011 and 2030,” Close says. “Now, more than ever, we need talented people to help us solve one of the biggest challenges the world faces—finding and safely producing responsible energy. We plan to lead that growth by hiring and developing the best and most talented people in the industry.”

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