Last summer this editor had the opportunity to visit two corporate-backed oil and gas apprenticeship programs in Scotland. Aberdeen College and Forth Valley College offer programs to recent high school graduates which over the course of their college career train them for a particular position at a particular company. Aberdeen Skills & Enterprise Training Ltd.'s (ASET) program at Aberdeen College placed 93% of last year's graduates.
The call for a similar 4-year program at a US college or university has yet to be answered (OGJ, July 22, 2013, p. 16), but high school students in Houston can now get a jump on their competition via its school district's new magnet school, Energy Institute High School (EIHS). Its first class of 200 freshmen started fall 2013, with roughly 200 more expected to enroll each year.
EIHS describes itself as the first school in the country with a school-wide energy theme and offers students three focus areas—geosciences, alternative energy, and offshore technology—as well as training in trades like remotely operated vehicle piloting, welding, and process technology. EIHS also provides students with scholarship and externship opportunities through corporate partnerships. To support its efforts, Houston Independent School District (HISD) made EIHS the first of its schools to receive laptops this year under its PowerUp 1.1 initiative to provide a laptop for each student.
Project-based learning
In addition to equipping incoming students with subject-matter knowledge over the course of their educations, EIHS also seeks to develop the leadership and social skills necessary to not just participate in the energy industry but to move it forward. The campus uses project-based learning in which students collaborate with their peers to solve multiweek problems. As the projects progress, the groups of students can request workshops to fill in knowledge they've come to understand will be necessary to move forward. At the end of each project, the students give a professionally modeled presentation outlining their findings. The school estimates that at the end of the 4-year curriculum each student will have worked in 150 different groups, on 150 projects, and given 150 presentations.
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) is an EIHS partner, joining with the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association (PESA) to provide mentors, field trips, and guest speakers. Executives from Halliburton Co., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and Apache Corp. are among the representatives from the energy community serving on EIHS's board, which partnered with HISD to develop the school's curriculum.
IPAA Pres. and Chief Executive Officer Barry Russell is co-chair of the EIHS's advisory board with HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. The IPAA/PESA Education Center, founded in 2007, had previously partnered with HISD through petroleum academies at Milby and Westside high schools and the Young Women's College Preparatory Academy, programs which sought to make math and science more meaningful to high school students by applying them to tangible activities.
The Education Center has awarded more than $300,000 in college scholarships over the past 3 years through funds disbursed via its annual George A. Alcorn Scholarship Breakfast. EOG Resources Inc. and Apache are among the companies that have awarded scholarships to participating students through the Alcorn breakfast. Baker Hughes Inc., Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., Marathon Oil Co., and Schlumberger Ltd. are among the companies that have provided the Education Center with speakers over the years, with National Oilwell Varco and Weatherford among those providing field trip opportunities.
Nurturing the future
As adolescents approach adulthood, the question of how to get from where they are to where they want to be can be daunting, even for those able to identify both locations. Investment in programs like EIHS and the IPAA/PESA Education Center benefits not just the oil and gas industry, but society as a whole, by both teaching a trade and equipping its students with the tools needed to succeed.
