Last week GBRIA hosted our inaugural Educator Externship Program. Our 2024 class included over 60 high school educators from 12 school districts. During the externship experience, the class learned about all facets of industry, namely: safety, health, emergency response, the products local facilities help produce, and the plethora of high-wage, high-demand careers available to their students.
The class engaged with contractors to do a deep dive into the crafts and training. Thanks to Pelican Chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors for hosting us and to our tour guides who spoke to each group of educators about craft careers: Brown & Root Industrial Services, LLC, CAM Industrial Solutions LLC, ISC Constructors, L.L.C., MMR Group, PALA Interstate, Performance Contractors, The Newtron Group (Triad), Turner Industries, Westgate LLC, and Zachry Group.
Each educator was sponsored by a GBRIA member, who took their externs on a tour of their site, where they learned how industrial sites operate and met with the men and women who come together each day to work safely and bring the products the world needs to fruition. A major thanks to the members who sponsored educators in the Class of 2024: Air Liquide, BASF, CF Industries, Delek US Holdings, Inc., Dow, ExxonMobil Baton Rouge, Honeywell, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Oxy, Methanex Corporation, Olin, Rubicon LLC, Shintech, Syngenta, and Westlake
Last but not least, thanks to Steve Welch, Seth Arceneaux, MBA, CSP, JoLena Broussard, MBA, Tim Harris, Peyton Chiasson, Scott Taylor, Kelly Carpenter, and Danielle Labbe for lending your voices and expertise as program speakers and to GBRIA's Workforce Development Committee for leading this effort!