Investing in the future of our oil and gas workforce

Jun 20, 2016 / News

Understanding the value in investing in the future workforce of the oil and gas industry, LAGCOE established the Future Energy Professionals Program in 2013 to encourage and support students to become future energy professionals who pursue technical positions which fuel our world.

One major initiative of the Future Energy Professionals Program is the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM, Education. Recognizing the importance of post-secondary education from these disciplines, LAGCOE has created the Future Energy Professionals Scholarship in an effort to attract professional talent capable of maintaining a high level of technical proficiency within the oil and gas industry. The scholarships are awarded to goal-oriented students planning to enroll into a Louisiana College in pursuit of a STEM-centric Degree.

Two Acadiana-area recent high school graduates were selected as recipients of this award: Drake Bergeron from Ovey Comeaux High School in Lafayette, who will be studying chemical engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the fall, and Laura Manuel from Sacred Heart School in Ville Platte, who will be studying mechanical engineering at UL in the fall.

The oil and gas industry relies heavily on the hands of skilled workers. As the Future Energy Professionals Program has grown over the past three years, it has expanded its reach to include high school students planning to study at a Louisiana two-year/ technical school following high school graduation.

LAGCOE is proud to announce the winner of the inaugural two-year/ technical degree Future Energy Professionals Scholarship: Cornelius Broussard. Broussard is a recent graduate of Cecilia High School in Cecilia, He plans to attend South Louisiana Community College, focusing his studies on electrical engineering, math and computer science.

“Because the oil and gas industry is cyclical, it is even more important to maintain focused efforts on generating a workforce pipeline that will continue to feed technically skilled, innovative, qualified workers into the industry,” said Angela Cring, LAGCOE executive director.

LAGCOE salutes these students for the hard work and dedication each has put in to their academic studies, and wishes the best of luck to each student as they begin their journey toward a career in Louisiana’s oil and gas industry.

Young Professionals of LAGCOE executive committee member, Natalie Guillot, project manager for SYCON-International, advises students and others considering entering the workforce with a career in the oil and gas industry to give it a chance, despite the downturn.

“If you think that you can make a difference in the future for betterment of the industry, you owe it to yourself and to the industry to give it a shot,” Guillot said. “With all the people giving up on an industry that provides so much to society, the gap will have to be filled by great minds when the industry cycles back. This may mean opportunities might be available to fill those gaps that might not have been there before.”

Now more than ever is the time for the prospective oil and gas industry workforce to focus on the future of oil and gas.

Lauren Rabalais | LAGCOE Marketing Coordinator