Skilled students need skilled leaders to help them get onto the ladder of success.
At the LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy and Technology (CPET), San Jacinto College (San Jac) offers hands-on incumbent training for the future workforce — connecting students to industry experts.
Process technology professor G.C. Shah is one of those skilled leaders. Shah has been teaching at San Jac since 1992. Shah said his most significant accomplishment is seeing his students strive through hard work and dedication to succeed.
"When I visit plants, I often run into supervisors, shift leaders and operators who were once my students," Shah said. "This makes me extremely happy and so proud to be a part of their success story."
Shah’s story spans a long career in the petrochemical field. He holds several master’s degrees, including chemical engineering and process control, along with instrumentation. Throughout his career, he has worked in many areas across the industry, including refining, and served as a consultant on instrumentation, fire protection and EHS.
"Safety is a huge part of operating in the petrochemical industry," Shah said. "I have seen incidents firsthand that impact entire communities." According to Shah, one of the best ways to ensure safety is having open communication and teamwork.
"In my previous work, we had a safety culture that thrived on working together," he said. "Our job was to get things back to operating safely and without unnecessary delays. We were able to do so because we didn’t let bureaucracy get in the way. I strongly believe teamwork and trust can reward us with stellar safety performance — in any place, at any time."
With over 30 years of teaching under his belt, Shah takes pride in the professional relationships he’s built over the course of his teaching career.
"I find great inspiration from the fine staff, faculty and support partners at San Jac," he said. "I have been fortunate to have worked with folks in operations and maintenance. They treat me like their family. We are all in this together — we are one team."
Shah is one of the many highly qualified faculty at the college’s incumbent worker training program at CPET. The goal for incumbent worker training is to offer course packages to industry partners that want to train employees by advancing their skills in specific areas. San Jac instructors, along with subject matter experts from the industry, lead the curriculum for each course.
Customizable subjects offered include:
- Process technology
- Electrical technology
- Instrumentation
- Inspection technology
- EHS technology
- Welding technology
- Non-destructive technology
CPET’s 151,000 square-foot facility was built for industry, by industry. The center features an 8,000 square-foot exterior glycol distillation unit where entry level and advanced credit students, as well as incumbent workers, can develop troubleshooting skills.
The center also features a multifunctional glass pilot plant, where two tank farms feed four process units; 35 training labs; modern conference space for industry training; the latest software programming, equipment and technology; and assembly spaces.
To learn more about the incumbent worker training program at San Jac, visit bit.ly/SanJac.
