Moves Magazine - Louisiana Community and Technical College ...

The Young Memorial Campus implemented the Multiple EgressionTraining Simulator (METS) in 2005 to practice survival escapetechniques in the event of a helicopter crash at sea. Since then,over 8,500 students have been flipped in this unit.Offshore Life 101 CollePartner to Rprevailing—and expensive—problem for the offshoreoil industry is the large number of new hires whosuddenly decide they can’t live on a massive oil platformmiles from shore. Some aren’t ready for the crampedquarters and bunkhouse living arrangements. Othersdon’t like adhering to a schedule that resembles lifein the military. Some have never been separated fromtheir families and are distracted by homesickness.Their reasons vary, but every day, new recruits on oilrigs ask to be taken home. It’s a pricey proposition foremployers, who must absorb the cost of transportingthem to shore by helicopter and who must pay to traintheir replacements.Now an innovative strategy deployed by the SouthCentral Louisiana Technical College (SCLTC)shows real promise in preparing new hires for life onan oil platform. In late 2011, the college unveileddry-docked living quarters at its Young MemorialCampus in Morgan City, La. They will be used in theschool’s considerable offshore curriculum programs.Students training for a variety of positions in theindustry will spend up to eight days in the authentic oilplatform living quarters to experience what life is reallylike on the job.“The living quarters allow us to simulate the lifestyleof people who work offshore,” says SCLTC DirectorGreg Garrett. “It’s going to go a long way in ensuringthat those who are trained for the industry know whatthey’re getting into.”The project is the culmination of more than ayear of work between SCLTC, the Foundation forLouisiana’s Community & Technical Colleges (LCTCSFoundation), and several industry partners, includingPetroleum Education Council (PEC) Premier, aLouisiana company specializing in professional offshoretraining. The Mandeville-based company partnersfrequently with SCLTC.“Staff turnover on offshore rigs is a continuing problemand one that the industry would like to see improve,”says PEC Premier Business Development ManagerChris England. “Companies invest more than $2,000into training each employee even before their first dayof work. They want to do anything they can to increaseemployee retention.”The private sector was enthusiastic about establishingthe new program at SCLTC. The offshore supportservices company, Tidewater Marine, donated twoliving quarters valued at more than $150,000, whichwere moved by barge to the Young Memorial Campusin summer 2011. The larger of the two quarters sleeps50; the smaller accommodates 20.Relocating the structures was a massive undertaking.The H&B Young Foundation donated $50,000 to theLCTCS Foundation to help move the structures, andindustry partners A&M Dockside, Canal Barge, GarberBrothers, Intermoor, Inc., Odyssea Marine, Stansbury& Associates and Tiger Tugz invested more than$45,000 in in-kind services toward the move.England says the project is “ultra important” in reducingemployee attrition.“Even if an individual has done all the training in theworld, you still can’t tell if they’re going to be inclinedto stick it out,” he says. “This increases the chances thatthey will.”14 | Moves Magazine