GCPTA Vision Meeting

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• GCPTA Vision Meeting
• July 23, 2009
• Bruce Raiff Dow Chemical, Texas Operations
  Learning Leader
• Troy Bearden Dow Chemical, Texas Operations
  Organizational
• Effectiveness Leader
  and Regional Learning Leader
• Bob Brinly GC-PIN Facilitator and former
  Plant Manager, RH
• Deer Park

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Why is GCPTA Important to Dow?
3000 Process Operators within the GCPTA area
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What we need

• More than enough eager, diverse and skilled
  persons ready to be hired and begin work as a
  Process Technician/ Operator.
• Low turnover rates for Process Technician/
  Operator jobs.

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More than enough
GC-PIN Supply/Demand estimate for
Houston/Galveston
The driver of the demand was attrition from
retirements. This fundamental issue is still with
us, but the impact is being delayed.
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Eager

• Ready to start work when we want them.
• Living in the area
• Knowledge and Skills retained
• Enthusiastic about Process Operations
• Know what the job is all about

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Diverse

• Mirror the local demographics

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Skilled Persons

• Fundamental Skills (Reading, Math, Science)
• Technology Skills
• Process Technology Skills
• Chemical Plant - Safe Work Behaviors
• Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills
• Communication
• Organization
• Teamwork
• Accountable/ responsible

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The Way Hiring is Today

• Hiring as many PTEC graduates we can get
• a failure rate not all graduates prepared to
  meet job requirements (FS, PTS, IS)
• work study program via loader job (increases
  loader turnover training costs, new employee
  performance gaps)
• mostly brings in young (early 20s) new hires
• Lack of retention of the learning requires
  refresher efforts
• Hiring and then Teaching FS , PTS, and IS
• costing us additional money taxes already paid
• creating a delay in department arrival (Drives us
  to batch hire so we can train in mass) (creating
  a pool that does not always match demand)
• experiencing in process failures (FS, PTS,
  IS, job match)
• Employees leaving
• Job does not match what they want to do
• Companies having to steal trained employees
  from others to meet their needs.
• Inadequate interpersonal skills to be successful
  on the job

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How can we collaborate?

• Win (employee) Win (company) Win (educational
  entities) at lowest possible cost

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Other groups working on the same workforce
planning issues

• Houston Business Roundtable (HBR)
• Greater Houston Partnership (GHP)
• Center for the Advancement of Process Technology
  (CAPT)
• Energy-related Training and Education Network
  (ETEN)
• Gulf Coast Petrochemical Information Network
  (GC-PIN)
• Texas Chemical Council (TCC)
• Plant Mgr Groups
• Brazoria County Petrochemical Council (BCPC)
• East Harris County Manufacturers Association
  (EHCMA)
• TX City Plant Managers
• Local Workforce Boards
• State Workforce Commissions
• Economic Development groups Chambers of
  Commerce
• ISDs

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Advantages Disadvantages of multiple groups
working on the same issues

• Advantages
• Different perspectives
• More inputs
• Disadvantages
• Duplication
• Increased resources (people )
• Competing for the same funds

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How does GCPTA measure success?

• Example Metrics
• Available PTEC degreed/certified candidates vs.
  Industry Demands
• of industry non-PTEC hires
• Graduation rates
• PTEX-CR scores
• Performance metrics PTEC vs. non-PTEC
• of targeted high schools community colleges
  with PTEC programs
• PIPELINE MEASUREMENT IDEAS
• 1) How many individual students trying to
  complete 2yr PTECH degree? How many taking their
  first PTECH class?
• 2) How many of these are currently employed by
  industry
• 3) How many (this qtr) obtained PTECH degree? and
  how many found work using the degree? PTEX - CR
  score?
• 4) How many students have stopped pursuing PTECH
  degree (ie no PTECH class in 2 consecutive
  semesters)

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Key Messages from Plant Managers

• Operating rates are slowly recovering, but
  ability to forecast profitability/sustainability
  is limited
• Little to no hiring through the 4th quarter
• Current resources are stretched due to recent
  lay-offs
• As economy recovers, they are concerned over loss
  of knowledge as people retire and retention of
  skilled workers
• We do not want to be caught off-guard when the
  economy recovers and the retirement wave hits, so
  plan now
• Desire to collaborate on resolving the problem
  and eliminate redundancy

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Questions ?