Author: Nicol Blanchard
Left to Right: Herbert McCoy, Fletcher IPT Department Head; John Ford, BHP Billiton; Steven Cheramie, BHP Billiton; Tony Billiot, Fletcher IPT Student; Shantel Tanner, Fletcher IPT December 2017 graduate; Sam LeBouef, Nicholls PETSM Student; Beth Schenkel, BHP Billiton; Becky McManus, Shamrock Energy Solutions; Randy Lepretre, Shamrock Energy Solutions.
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR FLETCHER’S
INTEGRATED PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES STUDENTS
Schriever, LA – Fletcher Technical Community College strives to provide students with opportunities to gain healthy, helpful, and promising workforce experiences. With internships, students can gain relevant work experience and apply their knowledge to prepare them for employment. One such program at Fletcher has worked diligently in providing students with workforce experiences and that is Integrated Production Technologies program (IPT). The IPT program offers non-paid and paid internship opportunities for students who are enrolled in their 3rd or 4th semester and taking IPTN 2500 Careers in the Petroleum Industry class. IPT students are selected based upon credit hours earned in the IPT program and their grade point average in the program. The goal of IPT is to train Deepwater production operators, but the transferable skills allow students to secure job in various oil and gas fields. That is why students can earn credit for work in any oil and gas related company. Fletcher, in particular IPT, recognizes that companies seek applicants who have relevant job experience. Because of that expectation, IPT is constantly creating opportunities for students to train with industry personnel and work in internship that can help students build their resumes while gain valuable, relevant work experience. Companies benefit as well as they can assess students’ knowledge and skills for possible employment.
IPT has had over 16 students participate in internships since spring 2017. This spring, eight are participating. Several companies support this initiative, including BP America, who has offered three non-paid internships at their Preservation and Maintenance Facility in Schriever, LA for the past three semesters. Shamrock Energy Solutions started a6 month paid internships program for several regional colleges, including Fletcher, to further students’ knowledge, understanding and technical skills in preparation for work offshore. Shamrock partnered with BHP Billiton to place interns on their Deepwater platforms. BHP’s participation is in furtherance of their Inclusion and Diversity Program which is designed to make their workforce more reflective of the communities they serve. “IPT is grateful for these companies, and others, who support Fletcher’s IPT program and see the benefits of work-based learning opportunities,” stated Herbert McCoy, IPT Department Head.
“Being primarily an oil and gas labor service company, Shamrock Energy Solutions has first-hand knowledge of the talent gap our industry has faced in the last several years. Everyone is in need of qualified and experienced personnel, so Shamrock has partnered with technical schools in our geographical area to do what we can to help develop this talent. We offer assistance where we can in developing the curriculums, teaching the content, and exposing students to outlooks on careers in the oil and gas industry. Our internship program gives these students a chance to gain experience using the knowledge they have learned in the program. This provides the student with an excellent chance at placement after graduation for a full-time position in his/her learned discipline and ultimately helps grow our industry with the talent we are all looking to find. It is our hope that, when the students can graduate and find full-time employment using their degree, it will also increase enrollment and success of each of these technical school programs,” stated Becky McManus, Vice President of Administration at Shamrock Energy Solutions.
For more information on the IPT program or to offer an internship opportunity to a student, please contact Herbert McCoy at 985-448-5905.