[vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Post contributed by Bill desRosiers – Coordinator, External Affairs

To create a highly skilled work force in Northeastern Pennsylvania through integration of school, employment, and training processes.

– Mission, NTEIC
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Every year the Northern Tier Industrial Education Consortium (NTEIC) holds a series of events to enlighten students about career possibilities in the northeast corridor of Pennsylvania. Earlier this year, Cabot partnered with NTIEC to host a program called Careers in Energy. This daylong crash course brought experts from nuclear, renewables, oil & natural gas into 9^th grade classrooms to discuss everything from job qualifications to educational requirements. Ultimately, it gave students a chance to connect with a person not a text book about career possibilities.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]This past week NTEIC held another one of its creative out-reach programs for students, Vehicle Career day, which Cabot also participated in. This learning experience brought younger students, 5^th graders in particular, outside the classroom and into the parking lot where 30 different companies were present with heavy equipment to show off. I think anyone with children can agree that keeping the attention span of a fifth grader is much harder inside the classroom then in front of an 18 wheeler with chrome decorations and loud horn.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Participants at this year’s Vehicle Career day included: Chesapeake Energy, PVR gathering company, Gas Search Drilling Services, Rain for Rent, Pa State Police, Montrose Fire Company and the Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children among others.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” interval=”5″ images=”3848,3847,3846,3845,3844,3843,3842,3841,3840″ custom_links_target=”_self” img_size=”thumbnail”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Cabot was on hand with its CNG powered pickup truck and two different drill bits used in the drilling process. After a brief geology lesson on the formation of the Marcellus Shale and a geopolitical discussion on the importance of natural gas, students learned about the Tri-comb and Poly Carbonate Bits used during natural gas drilling. In particular students learned how each drills through rock and what part of the drilling process each is used for. By far the most jaw-dropping moment for each student was the announcement that the Poly Carbonate Bit has teeth made of diamonds and cost upwards of $50, 000.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Being that this program educates students on career opportunities, not all of the time was wasted on drill bits. Students also learned about the hundreds of different job and career possibilities that exist in the Marcellus Shale play today. Furthermore teachers often asked what path a student should take to get into the natural gas business. The simplest answer is the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center which offers curriculum in everything from truck driving and welding to site safety. For those looking just down the road, Lackawanna College offers a petroleum engineering tech program which prepares students for operation and maintenance of gas production wells, a skill set Cabot and the industry will need for decades to come.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Keep an eye out next year for some of NTIEC’s other programs: Business Person in the Classroom, Career Fairs at area school districts, Safety City and Workforce Skills & Knowledge. In addition to career education, NTEIC also host a phenomenal anti-bullying program called Rachel’s Challenge. With so much violence on T.V. and in video games it great to see organizations promoting ethical social behavior.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]