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Fletcher Technical Community College will train the next generation of deep-water oil and natural gas workers in preparation for what is being called “the Great Crew Change” with the addition of the school’s new BP Integrated Production Technologies building.
“In the next few years, 40 percent of the oil-and-gas industry’s workers will be retiring,” said BP North America Vice President Crystal Ashby. “With this new building, we will have a better educated and more highly trained workforce than ever before.”
Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors member Stephen Smith, LCTS president Dr. Joe May, state Sen. Norby Chabert (R-Houma), state Rep. Gordon Dove (R-Houma) and Fletcher Technical Community College Chancellor Travis Lavigne Jr. were also on hand for the facility’s groundbreaking ceremony.
The new 29,999-square-foot building, located at the college’s Schriever campus just north of BP’s Houma Operations Learning Center, is scheduled to be complete by January 2014. The building will feature 10 classrooms, a 3,200-square-foot laboratory and four offices. The structure was designed by Weimer Gros Flores and Crump Wilson Architects of Thibodaux and will be built by JF Juge Construction Company of Prairieville.
The total cost of the project is $8 million, half of which BP is donating. The remainder will be generated from a cash line-of-credit match approved by the Louisiana State Bond Commission.
The land the training building will be built on was purchased with $2.7 million in Community Development Block Grant monies committed in 2009 by the Jindal Administration.
“BP is pleased to provide $4 million and to have the state match that (figure),” Ashby said. “The importance and significance of education is not lost on any of us. If production continues to grow and expand in the Gulf of Mexico, we will have trained people that are ready to work. We will meet the future staffing needs of industry. Today is a great day for us, and we look forward to the doors opening in the next few years.”
BP augmented its $4 million gift, making $250,000 in education grants to three local community colleges – including L.E. Fletcher Technical Community College in Houma – in recent years.
“The investment will be returned to all of us,” Ashby said. “(Future graduates of the program) will strengthen the entire industry. This is the future of American energy.”
Last week’s groundbreaking marks an ongoing effort to ready locals for the oil-and-gas industry’s demand for skilled workers.
Similarly, Fletcher has received $21.3 million in state financing for construction and development of its new campus.
“When I took office, we made a commitment to improve the campuses and learning environment for students because we know the community and technical college system is a critical pipeline for ensuring that we have skilled workers in Louisiana,” Jindal said in a printed statement. “The $4 million we’ve committed to this oil and gas worker training facility is evidence that we’re keeping that commitment. Louisiana is a world leader in energy production – which is why this new facility is so important. Our state powers our nation’s economy, and this industry provides great career opportunities for our people.”
Jindal lauded the new facility, saying it will help improve offshore working conditions.
“We’re also proud of this investment because it will help conduct research needed to ensure the oil and gas industry practices safe operations,” the governor said. “We still have a long way to go until our coast and our state are fully recovered from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, but projects such as this are examples of what can be accomplished if we work together.”
Last Tuesday’s wet weather didn’t stop the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building – dirt was brought inside the Schriever branch of the college’s campus for the event.
“We are thankful to the have this building to have the ceremony in,” LTCS board member Smith said, laughing. “The importance of the oil and natural gas industry is immeasurable.”
Smith later welcomed local legislatators to the podium to weigh in on the significance of the college’s new building.
“I attended the groundbreaking ceremony for this building when I was first elected,” state Sen. Chabert recalled. “This is another day the state partners with the people for foresight. You can come to Baton Rouge with an idea and your hat in your hand or you can come to Baton Rouge with a commitment. That commitment has manifested with a generous donation from BP. This is a building that will evolve with the needs of the industry. Fletcher is committed to the future.”
“Gov. Bobby Jindal regretted that he couldn’t be here, but I told him we’d take the money anyway,” Dove interjected, laughing. “Levees, road and extensions … more things are being done in this area than ever before. This delegation has helped move this college to where it is today.”
“The construction of the Integrated Production Technologies Building on Fletcher Campus is a great addition to Fletcher Technical Community College,” he said. “The wave of the future is in deep-water drilling. This facility, the first in this region and located here in Terrebonne Parish, is a great technological advancement in the education of workers for the deep-water oil-and-gas industry.”
Fletcher Technical Community College chancellor Travis Lavigne Jr., left, Rep. Gordon Dove, R-Houma, Sen. Norby Chabert, R-Houma, Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors member Stephen Smith, BP North America vice president Crystal Ashby and LCTS president Dr. Joe May gather for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Fletcher’s new BP Integrated Production Technologies building.
