Alvin Flournoy, an 18-year-old from Lake Charles, was not fully aware of how much he would limit his career opportunities when he decided to drop out of high school.
While got a job easily enough -- at a local fast food chain – he soon realized the pay was low and there were few opportunities for advancement. “I knew there wasn’t a future there,” Flournoy said.
When he learned of API’s Oilfield Training Program, which helps young adults learn critical entry-level skills they need to get started and succeed in their first jobs in the oil and natural gas industry, he decided to give it a shot.
“I wanted to get a head start in life. It was a good opportunity, and the money was good,” Flournoy said.
Within two weeks of finishing the API program at the Carville Job Corps Academy in Carville, Louisiana, Flournoy landed a job as an offshore roustabout with Parker Drilling Company. He’s now working as a floor hand, which entails making drill pipes connect.
Flournoy has high praise for Carville, which is part of the nationwide Job Corps program, designed to held disadvantaged youth between the ages of 16 to 25 years old.
After his Carville graduation, he thought he was prepared to work in the industry but “I found out I was over-prepared – I knew more than many of the guys who had been here a long time.” That, he said, “made me feel proud. I was very glad I went to Carville.”
While he found the API Oilfield Program challenging at Carville, “if you paid attention you could get through,” Flournoy said.
Flournoy works offshore, seven days on, seven days off. “The first couple of hitches offshore were hard, because you’re away from your family and your friends, but once you get used to it, and you get to know people better, it’s alright.” He appreciates the care the company takes to make the workers feel at home. “The food is great and you can eat all you want,” he said. Some rigs even offer Internet connections so he can talk to his family (he’s single). “It’s almost like being at home, except you’re surrounded by water.”
For the most part, Flournoy, who has been on the job for nine months, finds his work fun. “It’s interesting, and it’s challenging. You’re always learning something new,” he said.
In addition to the good salary and challenging work, he appreciates being able to buy company stock, participating in a 401K, the travel and the health insurance. “That is very, very important to me,” he said.
Flournoy believes he’ll stay in the industry for the rest of his working life and his goal is a simple one: “To be somebody’s manager.”
His message for the current Carville students: “Don’t let anything get you off your path. It’s worth all the hard work.”
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