Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

Developing and Maintaining a Successful Internship Program

Meagan Bryson Bellingham Technical College

Carla Shelton BP Cherry Point Refinery

Ryan Petronella BP Cherry Point Refinery

Flint Rose Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Bailey Andrews Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

INTERNSHIP:

An internship is a supervised temporary employment experience in which a student works in order to gain hands-on experience in their field of study and provides an employer with the equivalent of entry level work.

•Typically one quarter (2-3 months) in length

•Often students receive credit (elective or required)

•Paid or unpaid depending on industry. Typically paid for manufacturing.

•Students level of responsibility may vary depending upon company.

•Mentor/supervisor assigned to intern(s) and provides training and feedback

•Initial training period for intern (safety, processes, etc.)

•Internship agreement between employer and college

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

EMPLOYER BENEFITS:

•Creates a strong connection with potential hires

•Can provide additional entry level workforce

•Cost effective way to recruit new employees with no commitment to hire

•Can decrease recruitment and employee retention costs

•Strengthens relationship with college

•Interns can bring new energy and motivation to learn

•Creates a way for employers to give back to the community

•Converts student interns to full-time interns who can be immediately productive with less training required

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

STUDENT BENEFITS:

•Provides direct experience in targeted field of study

•Applies technical theory from college to the workplace

•Strengths background and experience for resume

•Creates the potential for future work with the company

•Gains feedback from direct mentor/supervisor on areas for improvement or growth

•Provides an opportunity for networking and building contacts

•Gains first hand knowledge of what occurs in the field and the technology used – sometimes difficult to duplicate in the college lab

•Eases transition from being a student to entering the workforce – Students who complete an internship have a much higher chance of locating a job

•Increases self confidence in the workforce

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

COLLEGE BENEFITS:

•Validates college program curriculum in a working environment and keeps it at pace with industry

•Provides stronger work-based learning experiences, unable to be achieved in the college lab

•Connects faculty to current trends within their field

•Develops more competitive and employable graduates

•Increases program credibility and student excellence

•Stronger ties with alumni

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

KEY ROLES

Employer:

•Coordinator: Point of contact for the company. Works closely with college coordinator on timelines, application and hiring process. Coordinator is often Human Resources

•Departments: Brought in by Coordinator for input on intern position needs, feedback, etc.

•Mentor/Supervisor: In charge of interns and their training, work, learning, etc.

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

KEY ROLES (cont.)

College:

•Coordinator: Point of contact for college and work closely with employer coordinator. Communicate frequently with college faculty and prepare students to be internship eligible. Often Career Services, Internship Programming or Cooperative Opportunities (Co-op).

•Faculty: Ensure students are meeting internship credit requirements. May require students to do supplemental assignments related to internship. Share internship opportunities through college Coordinator

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

GENERAL TIPS:

•Ensure there are coordinators at both company and college

•Define roles and responsibilities early in process

•Plan ahead (timeline of hiring, # of interns, etc.)

•Orient and train new interns, clearly defining expectations

•Be open to feedback from all parties involved, especially if developing a new internship program

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this process is to enable continuous BP support of Bellingham Technical

College (BTC) Process Technology programs. The idea is to have students from various programs

intern as Technicians at the plant. The Internship is a paid position. The intern program will be for

summer months from July to September.

The scope of the program will be determined annually by the unit Superintendents and

training representative.

Cherry Point Intern ProgramNorthwest Process Technology Alliance

Train the Trainer’s Conference June 10-12, 2009

Cherry Point Intern Program

BTC Role -

Engaging Bellingham Technical College (BTC) is most important.We work with the Director of Career Services very closely throughout the whole process.

We work out the timeline together

Career Services communicates with the instructors

Post the job descriptions

Collects applications and schedules interviews at BTC

Responsible for the logistics on interview days

Cherry Point Intern ProgramNorthwest Process Technology Alliance

Train the Trainer’s Conference June 10-12, 2009

Process:

1. Annual meeting with the Unit Superintendents to determine

the number of students for the summer and to appoint the unit lead

2. Engage training department who is responsible for assignments

and monitoring of students. They also initiate evaluations, training and exit interviews

3. Application, Interview, Selection and pre-employment process.

4. Start and Exit. (Interns are not guaranteed fulltime employment)

5. After Action Review for Superintendents, Admins and training we have an intern “round table” for lessons learned and best

practices to understand what we could do better from the

intern perspective

Cherry Point Intern ProgramNorthwest Process Technology Alliance

Train the Trainer’s Conference June 10-12, 2009

Once the process has started and the units have determined

Their level of participation the training representative is the SPOC for the interns and the foreman, which includes:

* What shift the intern will be working

* Who will be their supervisor

* Distributing and collecting mid-term evaluations

* Participate in the exit interviews

* Participate in the AAR & Intern roundtable

* Putting together the training for the first week

**On average Cherry Point takes 7 Process Technology Students per

Summer and 6 specific “crafts” students for our Shop Technicians

Cherry Point Intern ProgramNorthwest Process Technology Alliance

Train the Trainer’s Conference June 10-12, 2009

Ryan Petronella

BP Operator

BTC Graduate and Past BP Intern

Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

Implementing an Operator Internship

Program

At Shell’s Puget Sound Refinery in

Anacortes, WA

Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

5 Steps1. Engage Human Resources

2. Obtain United Steel Worker’s (USW) Support

3. Develop Guidelines

4. Implement Internship

5. Evaluate

Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

1. Engaging Human Resources• Opportunity for students to achieve

career success through structured learning experiences

• Connect subject knowledge learned in the classroom to the actual workplace environment

• Begin developing technical and interpersonal skills in the workplace

Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

1. Engaging Human Resources (cont.)

• Opportunity to experience working a rotating shift schedule

• Strengthen the partnership between Bellingham Technical College and Shell

• Creates an avenue for recruiting highly motivated, competent prospective employees

Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

2. United Steel Worker’s Support• Made presentation to the Worker’s

Committee (WC)

• Ask the WC to provide operators who would be willing to have an intern “shadow” them

• Included a representative from the WC in the interview process

Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

3. Guidelines• Application Process

• Selection process

• Supervisor

• Work Schedule

• Training Requirements

• Payroll

• Intern Duties

Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

4. Implement Internship• Contractor Orientation

• Meet with Refinery Leadership Team

• Completed Process Overview training

• Assigned to follow a single operator

• Worked one entire shift cycle

Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

5. Learnings• After Action Review

• Expectations not clear up front (both intern and operator)

• Scheduling process was confusing

• Communication between Learning & Development and field needs to be improved

• Improved supervision

Shell Puget Sound Refinery

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

Bailey Andrews

BTC Student

Past Shell Intern

Northwest Process Technology Alliance Train the Trainer’s Conference

June 10-12, 2009

Questions?

Thank you.