Process tech associate degrees pay off with lucrative careers at LyondellBasell

PASADENA, Texas – Eleven San Jacinto College process technology graduates were recently hired as LyondellBasell plant operators, proving they have the training it takes to fill the skills gap in today’s petrochemical industry.

 

A signing ceremony was held to celebrate the graduates’ achievements of earning their associate degrees, completing their 15-week internships and being offered full-time positions with LyondellBasell. LyondellBasell plays a key role on the San Jacinto College Petrochemical Advisory Council, which ensures students receive training in the exact skillsets requested by industry employers.

 

“Area community colleges, like San Jacinto College, offer us a ready-made talent pool,” said David Gosnay, manager for training and development with LyondellBasell. Gosnay serves on the Petrochemical Advisory Council, offering guidance on the construction of the 145,000-square-foot Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and Technology, set to open in fall 2019. “This is a natural fit for us to find great applicants to fill positions within our plant. With the Center opening in 2019, this will change the face of how we recruit up and down the Gulf Coast.”

 

Gosnay added that LyondellBasell only offers internships for positions available, and 95 percent of those who successfully complete their internships are offered full-time jobs. He said another round of internships is currently underway for 25 positions.

 

“I highly recommend this career because it provides a great living and stability,” said Joshua Love, recent hire and San Jacinto College graduate. “I notice LyondellBasell is hiring for a lot of positions because of the expansions going on, and people are retiring.”

 

He’s right. With increasing plant expansions across the region and a generation workforce gap, 1.4 million jobs will require credentials that are more than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree, according to UpSkill Houston, a Greater Houston Partnership initiative. These are known as “middle” skills jobs. Such demand positions community colleges, like San Jacinto College, as training hubs for these types of careers.

 

This is why Abraham Carrillo drove from out of district each day to attend the San Jacinto College process technology program. “I knew the College was well known for its operator program,” said Carrillo. “It was the right decision because I felt ready on my first day on the job at LyondellBasell. I absolutely love what I do, and I make great money.”

 

Carrillo said his starting pay is approximately $70,000 a year, good money to support his family that includes his wife and their new baby. Although Carrillo was not the first in his family to receive a college degree, he was the first to attend community college for an associate degree and says he is making more money than family members with bachelor’s degrees.

 

“LyondellBasell has a long history of industry partnership with San Jacinto College,” said Jim Griffin,” senior vice president of petrochemicals and energy at San Jacinto College. “Through collaborative efforts, we’ve updated course content and delivery, designed state-of-the-art laboratories and provided externships for instructors. Our number one priority is student success, and we congratulate the recent hires to LyondellBasell. There’s nothing more gratifying than seeing a new career get started.”

 

 

Pictured (Top Right): (left to right, front row) San Jacinto College graduates and LyondellBasell hires David Phan, Daniel Blackburn, Christian Thompson, Abraham Carrillo and Argenis Arellano.

(left to right, back row) Jeff Pearce, career coordinator, San Jacinto College; Jim Griffin, senior vice president of petrochemicals and energy, San Jacinto College; Joseph Zwiercan, department chair of petrochemicals and energy, San Jacinto College; Ludith Gonzalez, CVO training specialist, LyondellBasell; David Gosnay, manager for training and development, LyondellBasell; Dr. Allatia Harris, vice chancellor of strategic initiatives, San Jacinto College; and Kevin Adams, program director for process technology, San Jacinto College. Photo credit: Jeannie Peng Mansyur, San Jacinto College Marketing, Public Relations and Government Affairs Department.

 

 

Pictured (Above Left): (left to right, front row) San Jacinto College graduates and LyondellBasell hires Josh Love, Shawn Fergeson, John Rosales and Daniel Sauceda.

(left to right, back row) Jeff Pearce, career coordinator, San Jacinto College; Ludith Gonzalez, CVO training specialist, LyondellBasell; David Gosnay, manager for training and development, LyondellBasell; Kevin Adams, program director for process technology, San Jacinto College; and Joseph Zwiercan, department chair of petrochemicals and energy, San Jacinto College. Photo credit: Jeannie Peng Mansyur, San Jacinto College Marketing, Public Relations and Government Affairs Department.

 

About LyondellBasell

LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road, and ensuring the safe and effective functionality in electronics and appliances. LyondellBasell sells products into more than 100 countries and is the world’s largest producer of polypropylene compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin technologies. In 2018, LyondellBasell was named to Fortune magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies.” More information about LyondellBasell can be found at www.LyondellBasell.com.

 

About San Jacinto College 

Surrounded by monuments of history, industries and maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has served the citizens of East Harris County, Texas, since 1961. The College is fiscally sound, holding bond ratings of AA and Aa2 by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. San Jacinto College is a 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence Top 10 institution, a 2017 Aspen Prize Rising Star Award recipient and an Achieving the Dream Leader College. The College serves approximately 45,000 credit and non-credit students annually, and offers eight areas of study that puts students on a path to transfer to four-year institutions or enter the workforce. San Jacinto College’s impact on the region totals $1.3 billion in added income, which supports 13,044 jobs.

 

For more information about San Jacinto College call 281-998-6150, visit sanjac.edu or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.