Pennsylvania: API, Shell Advance Opportunities for Energy Careers

Mark Green
Posted February 20, 2025

News: API, Shell Polymers and Pennsylvania’s Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) announced new partnerships to enhance opportunities for students pursuing careers in process technology and mechatronics -- an interdisciplinary field that blends mechanical engineering, electronics, computer science and control engineering.  

Sharing Standards Access: API donated free access to its library of more than 800 oil and natural gas industry standards, giving CCBC students a leg up on potential industry careers.   

Funding Support: Shell agreed to provide funding for scholarships and a full-time community liaison to boost career awareness and enrollment in advanced manufacturing programs. CCBC hosted the event at its Shell Center for Process Technology Education and Library.  

Investing in the Future Workforce: API continues to focus on cultivating the oil and natural gas workforce of the future, enriching educational opportunities at institutions across the country by gifting free student access to API standards.   

What We’re Saying: “As we focus on securing and maintaining America's energy leadership, API is proud to donate our standards to CCBC, which is preparing the next generation of innovators. By providing the college with access to our standards, we are equipping students with the training they need to assume future leadership roles in enhancing safety, efficiency, and environmental stewardship in the oil and natural gas industry.” – Scott Garten, API vice president of Global Industry Services Product Management 

API’s Garten (left) and Dr. Roger W. Davis, CCBC president.

Lasting Benefit: CCBC President Dr. Roger W. Davis said donations by API and Shell will strengthen the Shell Center, which helps prepare students for careers at high-tech industrial plants like Shell’s petrochemicals facility in Monaca, Pennsylvania: “These gifts to the CCBC Foundation will make both an immediate and lasting impact by enhancing professional development of faculty, upgrading training opportunities for students, driving enrollment growth, and providing skilled workers employers need.”  

Jobs Connection: Nathan Levin, general manager of Shell’s Monaca plant, noted the ongoing partnership between Shell and the college: “We have hired many of their process technology graduates over the years and know that more skilled workers will be needed in the future. This investment aims to foster the development of Beaver County’s workforce and ensure long-term growth in the advanced manufacturing sector." 

API staff and CCBC officials at the college’s Shell Center for Process Technology Education and Library.

Bottom Line: API’s partnership with CCBC adds to its track record of standards sharing with colleges and universities, including a number of minority-serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities. Building the oil and natural gas workforce of the future is the goal. These partnerships, featuring free access to API standards, foster student interest in industry careers while providing them with a head start on acquiring the requisite knowledge and skills.