- Local
- Special Coverage
- Hot Topics
- Columnists
- State
- Mexico
- National
- World
- Noticias Generales
- Education
- News Obits
- Paid Obits
- National Obits
- Police Scanner
- Road Work
- Lowest Gas Prices
- Archives
Breaking News Alerts
Local
Petrochemical program aimed at youths
Companies will mentor, teach about industry
More Local News
- Robstown drops 48 jobs
- Ike storm surge pummels Packery
- Police station due to reopen after wiring fire
STORY TOOLS
The most emailed stories in the last 3 days
The hottest topics in the last 24 hours.
- Letters to the Editor: 09.15.08 (68)
- Record August fundraising haul for Obama (64)
- Wall Street drops more than 490 points (41)
- Man, 83, robbed by teens police say (37)
- CCPD: Dancer's car shot outside gentlemen's club (24)
- Cowboys, Eagles both looking strong early in season (18)
- Police: Mom used daughter's ID to be H.S. cheerleader (22)
- Police catch teens with marijuana, spray paint (15)
- Letters to the Editor: 09.13.08 (121)
- The nation's capital: armed and dangerous (10)
Photo by Todd Yates
Victor Guevara of Valero Energy Corp. and his company will take part in the Petrochemical Mentor Program, which will place at-risk youths with area companies.
Todd Yates/Caller-Times Dr. Ridge Hammons, project organizer for the Petrochemical Mentor Program, runs employees of Valero Energy Corp. through a PowerPoint program during a luncheon Thursday. The petrochemical program serves youths who are enrolled in the Workforce Solutions Youth Program, and will expose them to a variety of career options in the petrochemical industry.
How can you find the job of your dreams if you don't know it exists?
That's the slogan for the new Petrochemical Mentor Program, which will place 20 at-risk youths with area petrochemical companies, including Valero, Sherwin Alumina, Trigeant, Citgo, AirLiquide, Kiewit and the Port of Corpus Christi.
"The idea is to create a bridge and make these students aware of jobs in the petrochemical field, a high-demand industry in the Coastal Bend area," said project coordinator Ridge Hammons.
Hammons said employers in Corpus Christi have said more skilled, qualified workers are needed to take over positions at area refineries.
A retired educator and administrator, Hammons has worked in Corpus Christi schools for more than 30 years and knows firsthand the obstacles some students face.
A four-year bachelor's degree is not for everyone, he said.
"Trust me, I believe in education," Hammons said. "I just think it's not for everybody. There is something for everyone out there. They need to see, smell, feel what it is like to do a certain job and hopefully get excited about it."
Valero Energy Corp. will begin placing students in its plant in September. Mentors will meet with students for four hours one afternoon a month over four months.
Citgo spokesman Larry Elizondo said his company hopes to follow soon.
"After graduating from high school, many kids are left without a plan," Elizondo said. "Hopefully, programs like this one will give people exposure to what's out there and they can be led to good, high-paying jobs."
Youths who will participate in the pilot mentor program will develop communication and leadership skills, a work ethic and goal-setting, as well as explore industry careers. They will get hands-on experience and experiment as pipe-fitters, instrument technicians, welders and scaffolders. Most will be between the ages of 14 and 21.
"We are in the process of recruiting the youth by reviewing their applications and then interviewing them to find the best matches to the mentors who have submitted applications," said Nancy Bonilla, special projects coordinator for Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend.
The program serves youths who are enrolled in the Workforce Solutions Youth Program.
The program will be extended to youths between ages 10 and 17 who attend Baker or South Park middle schools and Carroll High School through a separate grant recently awarded by the City of Corpus Christi's 78415 Community Youth Development Program.
Students can contact these school offices and the campus program supervisor to enroll during the school year or by calling the Workforce Solutions center at 882-7491.
Students also will learn about the benefits, vacation time and salaries for each of the careers they experience.
Many of the careers they will be exposed to offer starting salaries of $40,000 or more, plus benefits and other incentives that could provide a comfortable living, Bonilla said.
This program was made possible through a $20,000 grant from Serco of Texas, a workforce development company that does work for Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend.
Students are selected by Serco and WorkForce Solutions.
More Info
For information about the Petrochemical Mentor Program, contact Ridge Hammons at 443-5895, 815-6122 or ridgephd@aol.com; or Nancy Bonilla at WorkForce Solutions of the Coastal Bend, 882-7491.
Contact Elvia Aguilar at 886-3678 or aguilare@caller.com
(6) User Comments:
Posted by 242194 on August 18, 2008 at 7:59 a.m.How about the unemployed or underemployed experienced workers?
Where is the effort to provide these types of programs for those over 21?
Posted by 358074 on August 18, 2008 at 8:03 a.m.In response to the previous post:
Call the Craft Training Center- 289-1636. That's the best way to get started.
Posted by 432679 on August 18, 2008 at 8:38 a.m.in response to 242194
This program is designed to expose students to job opportunities that they otherwise wouldn't know existed. It's goal is to get students ahead of the game BEFORE they graduate from HS.
It isn't for experienced workers.
Posted by 699873 on August 18, 2008 at 9:48 a.m.we must think of the future and upgrade our education with programs such as this one. Underemployed and unemployed have different programs and my sympathy is with them, but we simply must upgrade opportunities in CC for our young people or they will hit 37 and go north...we also need to pay a living wage in this town.
Many business owners here are still in the mode of slavery = employee, which is another attitude that needs education. Nobody is willing to be treated that way any longer when all they have to do is to leave this embodiment of feudalism and third world countries and leave. Empowerment is a magic word for CC economic success. Does anyone at TAMUCC even know how to spell it? Much less teach it over there. Maybe they are too busy buying 10,000 dollar chandeliers???
Posted by 701674 on August 18, 2008 at 11:34 a.m.in response to 242194
First, my response to the first comment - unemployed/experienced workers can apply for current available jobs. If training is needed, check with the Texas Workforce Commission (or whatever it is called now). Heck, check with Del Mar. People need to be proactive too.
I commend the Petrochemical Industry on their work with the at-risk youth. I hope that the discussion of college degrees for the students is part of the plan as well. Del Mar College, Coastal Bend Community College, Texas A&M CC and Texas A&M Kingsville are right there folks ready to take these kids on to the next level.
Good luck folks!
Posted by 427774 on August 18, 2008 at 10:07 p.m.in response to 699873
" Empowerment is a magic word for CC economic success. Does anyone at TAMUCC even know how to spell it? Much less teach it over there. Maybe they are too busy buying 10,000 dollar chandeliers??? "
LOL! Right! Appears higher education is only out for the almighty dollar, and the expensed status quo maintenance. Not much REAL "empowerment", or networked progress in the student's futures.
Not that there isn't a lot of educating work being done, but what's really sad - the students just want to get the documented proof of being educated, and have no idea how much, or how often they are basically cheated out of an empowered, and well networked reality.
Like knowing what the structures that would provide their jobs even look like, or that their educations are only part of their futures. Their jobs won't be in coddling environments with 'educational progress' pep talks all day everyday. A lot of waste built into degree requirements too.
The ones that get to me the most are those pesky high school credits AFTER the college credits are completed. Nope! Can't graduate! High school math credits aren't up to par! Kind of like stretching it out to make sure the college gets all the money it can no matter how well proven a student's skills have already proven to be.
I can't get over the lack of efforts among the well educated, and successful in CC. Like it would kill them to even consider themselves part of the big, and sometimes really ugly picture. Working toward these kinds of mentoring efforts for the sake of the young is nothing new - but I guess it has just fallen off of the routine development rosters.
And the wage scales in CC! Pitiful. The main good paying jobs are either bureaucratic, or demanded by union structures. There's a lot of underpaid and well skilled workers in CC being cheated out of decent compensation that their employers can well afford.
Programs like this are far too few, and far too limited. Those working toward the young, or the obviously struggling CC economy are in very short supply. Here we are a port city with trucking opperations in and out of everywhere - and not even a decent truck stop. All the decent truck drivers hate CC.
And very little effort to become part of the big PORT picture. Why? We have great port potential! Is it because the able, and successful here want it that way? Just doesn't make sense.
POST YOUR COMMENT:
(Requires free registration.)Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, contain links to sites other than Caller.com, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.
You must follow these rules in order to post comments: