They’re high paying. They’re plentiful. And training for them is an affordable investment, both time-wise and dollar-wise. These are just a few of the reasons why young people, veterans and professionals seeking to change careers are turning to “gold-collar” jobs in the petrochemical industry.
“Thanks to a new and abundant energy source, the U.S. is in the early stages of a manufacturing renaissance that goes well beyond the oil patch,” said Kate Holzhauser, vice president of environment, health, safety and security for Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem). “Simply put, more manufacturing in this country means a stronger, more robust economy and a lot more jobs.”
Speaking to delegates at the Petrochemical Workforce Development Conference 2016, held recently in Houston, Holzhauser said new investments are expected to directly generate a total of 69,000 new chemical jobs. “The overall employment impact, including all those indirect jobs needed to serve those new chemical plants and their workers, is 736,000 permanent new jobs and $300 billion in U.S. economic output by the year 2023,” she said.
Those projects currently underway include CPChem’s $6 billion U.S. Gulf Coast petrochemical projects in Baytown and Brazoria County, Texas.
“These petrochemical projects support up to 400 long-term permanent jobs as well as 10,000 engineering and construction jobs across two sites,” Holzhauser said. “At the height of the projects, we will have nearly 7,500 workers in the field working on these two jobs.”
The projects are expected to be complete and started up in mid-2017.
“We at CPChem are very proud of our projects,” Holzhauser said. “And there are projects going on like this all over the U.S. Gulf Coast. We’re one company out of hundreds that has concluded the U.S. is the best place to invest. Forget China. We’re here, and we’re here to stay.”
Holzhauser said CPChem needs workers to build, operate and maintain all its plants.
“These are ‘gold-collar’ jobs,” she said. “There is an immediate need for skilled craftspeople: pipe fitters, welders, riggers, electricians and skilled technical workers like process operators and instrumentation electrical technicians.”
These jobs generally require a technical degree or other certifications and pay very well.
“At CPChem, our top process operators who are fully qualified on multiple jobs can make over six figures per year when overtime and annual bonuses are included,” Holzhauser said. “In addition to the big salary and bonus, these jobs typically include good health care benefits and excellent 401(k) and retirement benefits.”
By comparison, the median household income in the state of Texas is about $50,000 per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Equally enticing, Holzhauser added, is gaining the credentials to qualify for one of these gold-collar jobs is among the lowest-cost options.
“Technical education programs are a bargain,” she said.
Public two-year community or technical colleges charge an annual tuition of roughly $3,000. By comparison, the average annual tuition fees for public four-year colleges are almost four times that amount for in-state residential students. Tuition at private universities can cost $50,000 or more per year. ‘
“Cutting this education time in half and the annual tuition costs by even more than that means that the payback period for one of these jobs is a fraction of that four-year degree,” Holzhauser added. “How many people thought the petrochemical industry was dead and gone about 15 or 20 years ago? I did. But I am so excited to be part of a growing petrochemical industry today. I am glad to be offering this to our sons and daughters and our grandchildren. This is the legacy that we have for them.”
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