PETROLEUM ENGINEERING COUNCIL (PEC)
The Welfare to Work Partnership/BizLink brokered with service providers Tulane/Xavier University and Goodwill to prepare 25 noncustodial fathers, many ex-offenders, for training at Petroleum Engineering Council (PEC) facilities in Hammond,Morgan City, St. Rose and Venice, LA. These jobs have starting salaries from $7 to $15 an hour. A normal workweek usually runs around 84 hours while the offshore rigs are at-sea drilling for oil and natural gas.
BizLink, Tulane/Xavier and Goodwill screened the participants, while BizLink and Tulane/Xavier partnered to purchase tools and uniforms. PEC also covered costs for training to work on oil and natural gas rigs, which normally runs $2,400 per person, accommodations and food for the participants. Participants received a PEC identification card with a list of programs they completed to help on interviews, which began towards the end of training.
The eight days of extensive, hands-on training provides the skills for successful employment on offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, including a basic orientation about life on an oil rig, core compliance information, including fire prevention, hearing conservation, welding and forklift safety, off-shore water survival, first aid and basic rigging techniques.