COLLEGE OF THE MAINLAND PTEC STUDENTS ADVANCE TO NATIONAL COMPETITION
(Texas City)— Two Process Technology teams from College of the Mainland will compete in the North American Process Technology Alliance Troubleshooting Skills Competition later this month.
The two teams each made up of four students from COM were the school’s top qualifiers in quarterfinal competition held in March. Five PTEC teams from COM competed in the quarterfinal contest. The two COM teams are set to travel to Gonzales, La., on April 27 to participate in the national competition that will consist of 10 teams from across the country. Representing COM will be the “Weir’s the Leak” team consisting of Captain Shane Berg, Michael Matherne, Cruz Puebla and Nicholas Tobey.
The “Steady State” team is led by Captain Steven Stack, Raymond Cardenas, Mason Guisti and Melissa Jared. The two teams are coached by COM PTEC faculty members Derrick Lewis and Dennis Link. During the competition, students use a web-based Learning Management System (LMS) to answer questions related to troubleshooting scenarios. Each team had to contend with four, timed scenarios.
At the end of each scenario, the three teams are given 20 questions related the troubleshooting scenarios to answer. In order to compete, team members must be enrolled in a process technology program on a full or part-time basis and cannot be currently employed or previously employed as an operator. The Process Technology program at COM was the first of its kind in the country and will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this fall.
COM ranks fifth in the nation in the number of degrees awarded in science technologies/technicians in 2013, according to a recent report by magazine Community College Week. COM graduated 79 Process Technology Program students in 2013, a four percent increase.
The COM program relies on industry partnerships and an advisory council of industry representatives to set program standards and determine which topics students will master.
“Having been involved with process technology for nearly 15 years, it is my opinion that COM has one of the best (if not the best) PTEC programs in the nation,” said Ray Perry, Training Technologist of Texas City Operations at Eastman Chemical Company and chair of the COM Process Technology Program advisory committee. “COM’s program produces graduates that are of the highest quality who meet or exceed industry needs.”
The two-year program teaches students through labs and hands-on classes operating industry equipment such as the glycol separation unit.
“We work very closely with our industry,” said COM process technology program coordinator Jerry Duncan. “We’ve had internships with Shell, Marathon Bay Refinery, INEOS and Dow Chemical. Bayer just came to us and asked to start an internship program in the next four to five months.”
The program also partners with the ExxonMobil Community College Petrochemical Initiative, which seeks to provide training and funding for the next generation of petrochemical workers to keep pace with industry growth. This fall the initiative awarded four COM students scholarships.
As industry grows along the Gulf Coast, job opportunities for program graduates multiply.
“$80 billion in chemical plants and refineries are proposed to be built on the Gulf Coast in the next four to five years,” said Duncan. “Also, operators are retiring. This is an outstanding time to enter the field.”
Ceadric Bourgeois, 33, of Texas City, will graduate in December and looks forward to career options.
“I’ve taken (employment) tests for companies, and I compared them to tests in class. I’m over prepared,” said Bourgeois. “The instructors make our program successful. They give us perspective on what a first-year operator has to deal with and the knowledge you need to do the job.”
Process technology graduates are in demand in food processing, chemical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries.
“I plan on going back and getting my degree in chemical engineering,” said Bourgeois. “The sky’s the limit.”
For more information on the COM Process Technology Program, visit www.com.edu/ptec or call 409-933-8536.
