In Port Arthur, Texas, it’s all about firsts.
It began with Motiva Enterprises’ 325,000 barrel-per-day expansion of its Port Arthur refinery, the equivalent of the first new refinery to be built in the United States in more than 30 years.
And through a first-of-its-kind partnership between Motiva and Houston-based S&B Engineers and Constructors, women from the surrounding area are participating in an exclusive, fast-track training program on the job. The intense 17-week pipefitting and welding training program pays the women during training and guarantees their employment upon graduation.
Added together, these firsts not only proved highly successful for the Motiva project, but S&B also plans to emulate the program on future projects to introduce women into non-traditional construction roles.
Motiva announced plans to move forward on the massive $7 billion refinery expansion in 2007, with completion expected in 2010. The project will employ more than 5,000 construction workers at its peak and generate another 300 full-time jobs when fully operational. A joint venture of Bechtel/Jacobs serves as the construction manager, with S&B Engineers and Constructors as the largest subcontractor on the project.
“We knew we faced major challenges manning this project,” says Mike Stilley, manager of training and development for S&B. “The local area simply could not support the additional labor need.”
S&B faced three options to meet its labor requirements: recruit from outside the area or import foreign labor—both of which would add costs because workers must be paid a per diem housing allowance to relocate—or find a non-traditional workforce locally.
“Targeting women from the local community made sense. They are an untapped resource, are seeking better opportunities and tend to be tied to the area for the long term,” says James Slaughter, Jr., president of S&B.
A Plan in MotionS&B approached Motiva with the idea and asked the owner to share the costs of the Women’s Training Program. The pitch was simple: Recruiting women from the Port Arthur area gave S&B and Motiva a way in which to give back to the community, providing lifelong skills to women who otherwise might not be able to support themselves and their families. With the training costs of $10,000 per worker versus $20,000 per worker in per diem expenses, the savings also helped make S&B’s case.
To turn the idea into reality, the Golden Triangle Empowerment Center (GTEC) helped S&B recruit women from the community. GTEC offers life skills and hands-on skills training to help people who are disengaged become successful workers in Port Arthur’s industrial market. GTEC conducted initial screening, background checks and drug testing; S&B then interviewed the group of candidates, selecting 60 local women for the new training program.
Next, S&B needed a top-notch training facility, in addition to the GTEC facility, to accommodate the program. Associated Builders and Contractors’ Southeast Texas Chapter in nearby Nederland was more than ready to help. The chapter currently conducts its craft training at night with 200 to 300 students enrolled in classes that cater exclusively to its industrial contractor base. In addition, the chapter’s school-to-work program with local high schools has 500 to 600 students enrolled. With classroom and laboratory space available during the day, S&B found a home for its program.
“When a member approaches us about a new program or training need, we’re more than pleased to partner with them. We appreciate the opportunity, and it makes our relationship stronger with our member and the local community,” says Kimberly Bernard, director of education for ABC’s Southeast Texas Chapter. “It doesn’t hurt that we like having a full parking lot day and night; it means we’re busy and we’re doing our jobs.”
That commitment to training and serving the area’s needs helped S&B move forward on this unique training venture.
The LandscapeLocated 90 miles east of Houston on the Gulf of Mexico, Port Arthur and the nearby cities of Beaumont and Texas City (known as the Golden Triangle), are home to 36 refineries. Established in the 1890s as a railway and shipping town, the oil and gas industry in Port Arthur dates back to 1901 with the eruption of the Spindletop Gusher. The petrochemical industry continues to be the area’s largest employer.
“This area is dependent on the oil and petrochemical industry for all opportunities,” Bernard says. “When the oil industry sees a lull, it affects every part of the community.”
In 2007, Port Arthur’s population stood around 57,000 with 25 percent of residents falling below poverty level, compared to 14 percent in the state of Texas.
Damage from Hurricane Ike, as in most areas surrounding the Gulf, still mars the landscape as far inland as 15 miles, with high water marks visible on roadside tree lines and fields turned permanently brown from saltwater saturation. Many homes, businesses and even Exxon Mobil’s refinery in Beaumont have yet to recover from one of the worst storms to hit the Texas Gulf Coast in recent history.
Despite Mother Nature, the Golden Triangle’s oil and gas industry currently is seeing its share of growth, with $17 billion in total expansion projects planned or under way. With such an extraordinary amount of work on the horizon, the additional skilled workforce requirements could top 20,000 to 30,000 workers in the next few years. For any contractor working in the industrial sector, the need for workers weighs heavily. The workforce crisis in this sector looms large with retirement on the horizon for many workers and a major gap in recruitment for the pipefitting and welding crafts.
“Even with every single training facility in the area at maximum capacity, it still would not meet the demand for trained workers that just our area needs,” Bernard says. “Other areas, like Houston and Lake Charles, have additional needs. We’re literally stealing workers from one another and fighting for the same worker pool.”
Growth in the oil and gas industry impacts all sectors of the local economy, contributing to employment and development. “Every one job created in the petrochemical industry generates five to seven jobs in the community in local hospitals, restaurants and stores,” Bernard says.
Along with this growth comes the need for housing for workers relocating to the area on a temporary project basis or for permanent employment. Both the residential and commercial construction sectors experienced a boom in recent years, and new hotels, motels and restaurants now dot the highways connecting the three refinery hubs.
Local Ties
With the goal of making long-term connections in the local community, the Women’s Training Program, an accelerated 17-week program, combines classroom and hands-on learning. In addition, many S&B instructors, both women and men, hail from the area, work in the industry, and bring their experience, knowledge and unique perspective of the industry to the students in the program.
S&B reconfigured the National Center for Construction Education and Research’s pipefitting and welding curriculum to fit into a full-time, 40-hour-a-week class schedule and incorporated its own stringent safety training into every aspect of the program.
“There’s no doubt, these women are getting everything out of the training curriculum and more,” Stilley says. “The 40-hour week means they get the training tools on an accelerated basis and, even though they have a lot to grasp quickly, their comprehension and enthusiasm grows every day.”
While the women share similar backgrounds, their broad age range, 18 to 40-plus years, and varying education levels make for a diverse group of individuals—all of whom learn at a different pace and have different goals and long-term plans.
The women’s skill levels vary dramatically, so the instructors offer one-on-one help when needed. Ryan Rose, a pipefitting instructor, says the women are proving themselves in this fast-paced environment. “When you take women who didn’t even know how to read a tape measure and you have them out grinding pipe, cutting and welding, it’s evident they came a long way in a short period of time.”
But not everything comes easy when starting a new career. The first challenge emerged with the curriculum’s math requirements for pipefitting. Trigonometry came as a surprise to many of the women, especially those who had not stepped into a formal classroom in years.
“I thought I was running away from math. I never had trig in my life,” says Pateroney Ducote, a pipefitting trainee. “The instructors said you can use a calculator, but I had to learn it with pen and paper first because what if something happens to my calculator out in the field? I need to know the steps.”
That determination and motivation, along with the women’s new-found hands-on skills, make for a sure-fire success.
“They’re fresh, they’re hungry and they want this opportunity,” says Rose DeGroat, a welding instructor.
The energetic, positive attitude these women possess can be attributed to the fact they truly appreciate the opportunity to strike out on a career path. They often ask their instructors to move through the classroom
material more quickly and request additional time learning the hands-on techniques.
But, the reality of climbing up to 30 feet in the air on scaffolding to cut and weld pipe weighs heavily on the minds of many of the participants. Along with that, a few complaints can be heard when they’re outside for hands-on training and a rain storm hits. But, they realize the weather will not always be perfect on the project site. With constant reinforcement of safety protocol, they know how to take care of themselves, spot potential problems on the jobsite and keep an eye on each other.
“Half the workers who are out in the field don’t know what these women now do,” says Jill Van Pelt, a pipefitting instructor. “They’re way ahead and may even be teaching some of the men out in the field.”
In a short time, they will do just that as they move to the Motiva jobsite as first-class helpers. But transitioning to the field may present additional challenges for the women.
A Man’s World No MoreIn general, the construction industry was never touted as a career of choice for women. Only in recent years have women been accepted into the commercial construction sector. They now comprise a mere 2.7 percent of the total craftworker construction workforce.
The industrial sector, both construction and maintenance, has long been dominated by men and much less accepting of women. Women in the field today can be a rare find, and those who work onsite typically do not see the chance for career advancement beyond low-paying positions, such as fireguards.
Twenty years ago, a woman attempting to enter the pipefitting or welding crafts, especially in the petrochemical industry, received much less than a warm welcome.
“It took me a long time. Women just didn’t move up in this area,” says Jamie Rose, a pipefitting instructor and Ryan Rose’s wife. “I was on one job and a young man asked me what in the world I was doing out there. He said ‘you should be home cooking supper for your husband.’ I told him I was good enough to do both.”
Many women who attempted to break this gender barrier in the petrochemical industry quickly decided the animosity they met from their male coworkers could not be overcome. In fact, the scrutiny and the stress left many walking and some running toward the refinery gate.
“Guys weld all day long and nobody looks at their weld,” DeGroat says. “A woman makes a weld and you have 100 people looking at it. The fact is some men couldn’t make the cuts these girls are now making.”
Back in the day, the tolerance level for women in the workplace did not even reach that height on some projects. “A man could make 10 mistakes and he’d still have a job,” says Ryan Rose. “A woman made one small mistake, has one cut out, she’s gone. That’s not right; everybody deserves the same shake.”
Many young men entering the industry years ago, in fact, met similar opposition from the old-boys network. “When I was a foreman, the old timers never wanted to teach you anything because they were afraid you were going to take their job,” Ryan Rose says. “I’d place a young guy with them and say you’re going to teach him and if you don’t, I have no room for you on my crew.”
Today, room on these highly skilled crews is exactly what’s available.
Times Are a-Changin’
With industrial contractors now feeling the skilled craftworker shortage as much as other sectors of the construction industry, the outreach to non-traditional workers truly makes a difference for the contractors and the under-employed workers in these communities.
“The job opportunity in this area for these women is well received,” Stilley says. “And, we need tomorrow’s workers today. We’re pulling out all the stops, at all costs, to make it happen for them.”
So, S&B instituted diversity training for its existing field staff, including field foremen and general foremen, to ensure the new trainees receive a proper welcome.
Setting the stage in the field for the new helpers doesn’t stop there. To provide an easy transition and ongoing support, the instructors will move into the field with their trainees to serve as mentors. And, S&B developed a new site orientation program to familiarize the women with daily life at the refinery.
What’s a Girl to Do?When welding trainee Ebony Yowman saw advertisements for the Women’s Training Program, she didn’t even hesitate to call. Having grown up in Port Arthur, Yowman knew this opportunity for gainful employment could not be passed up. She previously worked as a fireguard, and while Yowman loved the excitement of the refinery, paying the bills on a fireguard’s wages did not add up at month’s end.
Many of the women in the program are single parents worried about their future and the future of their children. They seek the stability and financial security their new construction careers can provide.
“This opportunity is putting me back where I want to be, doing something that I really like to do,” Yowman says. As for the training, she says the most challenging part is learning the techniques and the true “tricks of the trade.”
For 31-year-old Farrah McCurley, a pipefitting trainee, the program means a second chance at a career in construction. She previously worked for a contractor that, despite her willingness to learn, never offered to enroll her in a training program and even promoted less-qualified workers. McCurley now sees a long-term career in construction where the sky’s the limit. “In two or three years, most of us will not be pipefitters. We are going to be foremen and general foremen.”
A Brighter Future
The enthusiasm and excitement cannot be overstated. Some work second jobs to help pay their bills, but they show up eager for training each morning.
“These young ladies are putting both feet into it to learn, and they have a lot of support behind them to make it easier for them,” Van Pelt says.
No doubt, they appreciate the opportunity for long-term success, and the earning potential with S&B they could not find elsewhere in the Golden Triangle area.
“Where are you going to get paid to go to school?” asks Tandalon Scypion, a trainee who works evenings as a cosmetologist. “S&B’s really helped all of us. I’m going to stick with this until the wheels fall off.”
That confidence in themselves, their training and their future in the industry makes each woman move forward. And, their plans for the future are big. Some even talk about giving back by teaching their new craft to young women entering the industry.
“I don’t want to just stop with welding. I want to be in a position that I can move up in the company from foreman to general foreman and then superintendent,” Yowman says. “ I believe that S&B is a company that will allow me to do that. I’m going to give them all I have.”
S&B surely can claim success with this endeavor. The Women’s Training Program graduated its first 18 students at the beginning of February. The second class graduates and moves onto the Motiva project this month.
“The reception this program received from local women gives us the blueprint for projects in other areas,” Stilley says. “The results are great for us and for these women. And, we’re happy to be giving back to the local community with new careers for these talented women.”
While a long-term track record is still in the making, S&B expects 80 percent to 90 percent of the women to continue with on-the-job training, moving from helper to apprentice to journeyman. From there, the construction career ladder truly is open to them.