Local Opportunities in California

In 2002, the Los Angeles, California, refinery implemented a program designed to increase local recruitment. The program is jointly sponsored by the refinery, the PACE labor union, an area community college and trade school, and a local community resource center.

High school graduates in the program receive a full-time summer internship, college classes during the fall and spring while working one 12-hour shift a week, followed by a second summer of full-time shift work. Three participants completed the program in 2003 and were hired as operator trainees at the refinery’s Carson plant. Two additional participants were hired out of the second program in 2004.

In addition to giving education and job opportunities to local community members, the program gives the participants a good sense of the realities of the job, and provides management an effective way to assess participants’ performance and potential.