GBRIA Recognizes Outstanding Industrial Workforce Development Programs Across Southeast Louisiana
GBRIA Recognizes Outstanding Industrial Workforce Development Programs Across Southeast Louisiana
The Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance (GBRIA) recognized 18 high schools, 5 high school career and technical education centers, 3 post-secondary institutions and 11 industrial contractors for outstanding work in skilled craft training at its 19th Annual Workforce Development Awards Banquet on August 27 at the Baton Rouge Marriott.
Approximately 300 guests attended the annual event, which brought together members of GBRIA and the New Orleans Region Industry Alliance (NORIA), along with educators and workforce partners from across Southeast Louisiana. The awards recognize the schools, contractors and individuals helping prepare and develop the skilled workforce the region’s industrial community needs.
“Louisiana has tremendous opportunities ahead, but realizing those opportunities depends on having the skilled workforce to support them,” said Connie Fabre, President and CEO of GBRIA. “That takes a commitment at every level: educators introducing students to industrial careers, post-secondary programs preparing them for the workplace, and contractors continuing to invest in their employees. These awards recognize the people and organizations doing that work every day.”
The following schools, companies and individuals received awards at this year’s event:
High Schools
Local contract firms and industrial plants nominated high schools whose career and technical education (CTE) programs were exemplary in their engagement with parents, fundraising, enlisting support to reinforce training, sharing student success stories, and explaining the value of the CTE programs to their school, community, and students.
Award of Recognition: Albany High School, Apple Digital Academy and Career Training Center, Donaldsonville High School, East St. John High School, St. Amant High School, Plaquemine High School and Walker High School
Award of Merit: Chalmette High School (New Orleans region), Doyle High School, Dutchtown High School, Scotlandville Magnet High School, and Zachary High School
Award of Excellence: East Ascension High School, East Feliciana High School (New Orleans region), Fontainebleau High School, Live Oak High School, Ponchatoula High School (New Orleans region) and West Feliciana High School
Career and Technical Education
Award of Merit: St. James Career and College Center and West Baton Rouge Career Academy
Award of Excellence: Cuillier Career Center (New Orleans region), East Baton Rouge Career and Technical Education Center and St. Charles Satellite Center (New Orleans region)
Post-Secondary Institutions
Post-secondary institutions submitted a recorded presentation covering the following areas: partnering with employers on training, student job placements, recognizing student achievements, measuring success, and how they bring real-world experience and noteworthy advancements into their curricula and classrooms.
Award of Excellence: ABC Pelican Chapter, Baton Rouge Community College and River Parishes Community College
Contracting Companies
Contractor nominees described their recruitment activities to the next generation of craft professionals, including assessing existing skills of individuals entering the workforce, promoting further training to develop employees, retention activities to keep employees engaged and progressing, and how they measured their success.
Companies were divided into divisions dependent on company size and total company hours worked.
General Construction and Maintenance
Award of Merit: PALA
Award of Excellence: Brown & Root, EXCEL Group, Performance Contractors, and Turner Industries Group
Specialty Trades
Award of Recognition: Deep South Crane and Rigging
Award of Merit: PSC Group
Award of Excellence: Cajun Industries, ISC Constructors, MMR Constructors, and Turner Specialty Services
Honorary Awards
In the contractor category, top point earners in each section will win honorary awards, highlighting exceptional programs.
Best Assessment Program: ISC Constructors
Best Training Program: MMR Constructors
Best Career Path Program: Brown & Root
Best Retention Program: Turner Industries
Above and Beyond: Performance Contractors
Best Practice: Turner Specialty Services
Best Overall Score: ISC Constructors
Workforce Development Champion Awards
GBRIA’s Workforce Development Champion Award recognizes significant achievements by individuals in our community who helped drive growth in enrollment, improvements in government policies and education systems, or provided other substantial support or achievements in workforce development, particularly in the industrial crafts.
Matt Watson, ISC Site Superintendent at Rubicon
Hall of Fame Awards
GBRIA also awarded Workforce Development Hall of Fame Awards to three individuals who demonstrated a lifetime of achievement impacting generations of students and improving Louisiana’s workforce development educational efforts.
Tom Yura, President & CEO of UBE Chemicals America
Kathy Trahan, President & CEO of Alliance Safety Council
Nominating Groups
The following plants and contractors participated in the nominating process:
Baker Construction, BASF, Brown & Root, Cajun Industries, Cornerstone, Dow, Diamond Infrastructure Solutions, Excel Group, ExxonMobil, ISC Constructors, MMR Constructors, Nucor Louisiana, OxyChem, Performance Contractors, PBF Energy Chalmette Refining, Rubicon, Shell, TRIAD Electric & Controls, Turner Industries, and Volks Constructors
Information on the awards process: https://www.gbria.org/craft-workforce-development-awards
Photos from the event: https://linkit.shutterfly.com/7qoT7a
About GBRIA
For more than 55 years, the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance has united industry leaders, contractors, and suppliers to develop solutions to shared challenges.
Through the New Orleans Industry Alliance, we are expanding that collaboration across Southeast Louisiana, now representing approximately 80 facilities spanning petrochemical, paper, pharmaceutical, storage, and other manufacturing sectors.
Learn more at www.gbria.org.
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