LOCAL

Westside's Industrial Maintenance Program students meet with Industry Committee

Staff Writer
Plaquemine Post South
Tom Bradley of The Dow Chemical Co. (far right) talks with students in the Industrial Maintenance program at the BRCC Westside campus during an Industry Committee dinner hosted for the students recently.

PLAQUEMINE - Industrial maintenance students at the new Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) Westside campus in Plaquemine were treated to dinner and some one-on-one time with representatives of local industrial contractor and plant companies on July 11.

The new Industrial Maintenance Program at Westside has kicked off with a bang. The first millwright and pipefitting classes began July 22, and students who call BRCC Westside quickly may still be able to join those classes. The first instrumentation class includes 32 students, and the first electrical class includes 31 students. Those classes started in June.

The Dow Chemical Co. sponsored the dinner so that students would have the opportunity to talk with industry company representatives about local job opportunities, pay ranges and related matters.

One of the messages to students was the tremendous opportunity in the chemical industry now and in the future.

According to the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance in its new Semi-Annual Contract Labor Forecast, the Capital Region is going to need about 30,000 more skilled laborers - everything from instrument and electrical technicians to pipefitters and millwrights - than it currently has to keep up with the new construction, maintenance and turnaround projects expected by late next year.

The Industrial Maintenance program at the new BRCC Westside campus has benefitted tremendously from the Industry Committee, which includes representatives of local chemical plants and industry contractor companies, including The Dow Chemical Co., Axiall, ISC Constructors, Jacobs, Shintech, Turner Industries and Westgate Electrical & Instrumentation.

The committee's promotion was largely responsible for the large first classes at the new campus.

For information on the Industrial Maintenance program at the Westside campus go to www.mybrcc.edu/aps/cont_ed_payment/, call the campus office at 225-687-5500 or go to the campus on Tenant Road behind Plaquemine High School.