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July 29, 2014
The public and private sectors have come together to make sure that the Louisiana oil and gas industry will have an adequate number of workers for the foreseeable future.
Data states that about 40 percent of skilled oil and gas professionals are expected to reach retirement age within the next decade while the Gulf of Mexico has become the fastest growing offshore market in the world.
Therefore, last week the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association signed an agreement with Nicholls, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the University of Louisiana System, Fletcher Technical Community College, South Central Louisiana Technical College, the Louisiana Workforce Commission and Louisiana Economic Development to form a long-term partnership to help Louisiana businesses address the employment needs of the expanding Gulf deep-water exploration and production industry.
“All this talent is getting ready to the leave so the industry is looking for sustainability into the future and it’s gotta cultivate the next generation to sustain this industry,” said. Michael Gautreaux, Nicholls executive director of its Petroleum Engineering Technology and Safety Management department. “They have reached a human capital critical crossroad and there’s not enough schools around to produce the number of people the industry is projecting it’s going to need so this really is a first step.”
Gautreaux said the plan behind the agreement is to create a type of fast-track education certificate among the various curricula of the schools involved. He expects the courses to last either three or four weeks and serve as an entry-level certificate that can be recognized by industry.
“This partnership is a prime example of how Louisiana higher education is coming together with business and industry to meet workforce needs,” said University of Louisiana system president Sandra K. Woodley in a release. “Leveraging the power of existing programs will yield a multi-faceted approach to growing the employee pipeline for the fastest growing offshore market in the world. It is a wise approach for the long-term economic stability of our state.”
Gautreaux says the next step is for the agencies to come together to devise the curriculum, and although he did not put a timeline on when the certificate classes will be made available, he lauded Nicholls’ more than 40-year track record of preparing students for management careers in offshore fields through the university’s Petroleum Engineering Technology and Safety Management program.
