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Job Forecast Data

Process technicians will be in demand more than ever in the coming years. A shortage of process technicians currently exists within the chemical, oil and gas exploration and production and power generation industries and future projections do not offer relief. Compounding the problem is the abnormally high number of retirements projected over the next ten years. However, since the process technician position has become much more complex in recent years, requiring more knowledge and skills in computing, teamwork, problem-solving, regulatory compliance and troubleshooting, fewer qualified workers are available for hire. Companies are hungry for qualified workers who possess the skills and knowledge needed to perform successfully in this fast-paced job.

Chemical Sector

The chemical process industry, the fourth largest U.S. manufacturing industry as defined by the U.S. Dept. of Labor, represents a large diversity of industries:

• Plastics Materials and Synthetics
• Cleaning Preparations
• Industrial Organic Chemicals
• Industrial Inorganic Chemicals
• Miscellaneous Chemicals
• Paints and Allied Products
• Agricultural Chemicals
• Drug Manufacturing

This industry employed about 1,042,800 wage and salary workers in 1998 with over half of those workers in production (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 1998). The American Chemical Society, the largest scientific society in the world, estimates that 650,000 process technicians are employed in the chemical process industries and in petroleum refineries. The 1998 Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Dept. of Labor confirms this figure. According to a survey by the Gulf Coast Process Technology Alliance, the chemical and refining industries have projected a fifty to eighty percent retirement rate for process technicians over the next seven to ten years.

In addition to this information, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) reported that eighty percent of manufacturers, large and small, experienced a moderate to serious shortage of qualified job applicants while twenty percent described the problem as serious. The most serious shortages specifically identified were in production and direct support fields. In the position of operators, fifty-five percent of the manufacturers surveyed reported a moderate shortage and twenty-one percent reported the shortage as serious. According to demographic experts working with NAM, America could be facing a shortage of up to ten million skilled workers by 2020.

Oil and Gas Production Sector

The oil and gas exploration and production industry had about 339,000 wage and salary jobs in 1998. The largest group of workers is in production, accounting for nearly forty-four percent of industry employment (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 1998). Much of the offshore industry is located along the gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana. The Gulf of Mexico, even after fifty years, is still a vibrant and changing hydrocarbon basin. Oil production has risen fifty percent in eight years and gas production is currently operating at a depth of 7,000 feet. Deepwater oil production has increased over fifty percent since 1985 and gas production has increased over twenty percent. In 2002, twelve deepwater discoveries were made off the coast of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, with sixty-five projects in production at the end of 2002. In addition, there are approximately eighteen new offshore production projects planned in 2003 and sixteen more in 2004. Qualified process technicians will be needed to meet all of these demands.

For example, BP, the second largest oil company in the world, estimates that an additional 200 people will be needed (based on 2002 projections) to staff new deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition a substantial number will also be needed for the renewal of the current workforce which spans eight states in the US.

With such a demand in these industries, educators should see a bright future as well. Industry is looking for applicants that have an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Process Technology. Therefore, community colleges and technical schools will play a major role in educating the individuals needed for this pipeline. The partnerships that are being fostered by CAPT between industry and education will serve as a foundation for success in reaching these employment goals.