Summer is just around the corner — can you feel it?
When spring quickly turns to summer, the annual beach trip, the pool, snorkels and sand come to mind. As teachers and students wind down the final days of school, another set of words will be at the top of mind for many: internships, externships, apprenticeships and site tours.
A significant labor shortage across industry combined with a plethora of announced and soon-to-be-announced projects, along with changes to the Louisiana Department of Education’s (LDOE) accountability system, have presented an opportunity for educators and students alike to learn about our state’s thriving industrial workplaces.
The industrial job market is hot for skilled craftspeople. Labor forecasts released by the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance (GBRIA) continue to show growth within the craft career categories, and early returns from a process operator forecast show a sustained need for qualified operators across the region.
Aside from the uptick in large-scale industrial projects and the ongoing need for maintenance and small capital projects, other initiatives in the state are driving demand. Notably, the two major data center projects recently announced — Hut 8 in West Feliciana and the Meta project in North Louisiana — will further increase the need for contractors with the skills and manpower to execute these projects.
Further complicating the labor market challenge is the average age of industrial craft workers in Louisiana, hovering at around 45 years old. Industry is at a critical point, where we are still able to leverage these skilled craft professionals to train and mentor the next generation. However, each year, as seasoned professionals retire, we lose critical, institutional knowledge.
Industry has responded to the need for skilled workers with programs like GBRIA’s Educator Externship, where high school teachers spend three days learning about industry opportunities and skills that are needed during the summer. Educators receive a $1,000 stipend for their participation. A key takeaway from GBRIA’s first externship class was the disconnect between recognizing that industry offers good jobs and understanding the nature of certain roles. Many educators were unfamiliar with industry terms like polypropylene, distillation or catalyst or even the specific tasks of roles such as electricians, pipefitters, welders and process operators.
One of the keys to closing the labor gap is closing the knowledge gap. By polling educators at the beginning of GBRIA’s externship and again at the end, data showed that the real-world examples, site tours, employee interactions and handson activities in a short three-day program significantly improved the way participants understood industry.
This summer, opportunities abound for teachers and students who want to learn more about industry careers. GBRIA will expand its externship program beyond the 60+ educators who participated in 2024, with an additional session in Baton Rouge and a possible session in the Greater New Orleans region.
Adding to the momentum in education, the changes in LDOE’s accountability system present high school students with an exciting opportunity to participate in internships at industrial sites. GBRIA member ExxonMobil is an early leader in this space, offering more than 40 internship opportunities for local students, paying over $18 per hour during the summer. This is a novel idea, as most industrial facilities require workers to be at least 18 years old.
These programs require time and effort to develop, but partnerships make them possible. For example, ABC Pelican Chapter’s internship program this summer will allow high school students to earn money while learning from top contractors and touring GBRIA member sites.
No matter the approach, when industry works together to bridge the knowledge gap among educators, students, parents and even among itself, unprecedented opportunity awaits. We can create the model for craft training and education for the rest of Louisiana by working closely with our education system, bringing prosperity to our communities along the way.
For more information, visit gbria.org.
