Energy education is vital for the future of natural gas. Natural gas is transforming the world we live in and organizations all over the country are suiting up to prepare for this exciting new future that the oil & gas industry is leading us towards.

According to a survey from the Marcellus Shale Coalition, nearly 30 percent of new hires in the industry last year were equipment operators. The survey also found that engineering, construction, operations and maintenance jobs are by far the most difficult areas to fill, and they’re also the fields where oil and gas companies planned to do the most hiring this year. This is why schools like Pittsburgh Technical institute (PTI) are transforming their curriculums by adding new energy education to help train professionals for generations to come.
“Our customers, the gas developers, they’re screaming for more technicians,” said Jim Neville, Vice President at Lawrence-based Equipment & Controls Inc., who donated equipment and also helped design PTI’s curriculum.
PTI has been reinventing itself for the past 15 years. Their most recent addition is the $3.5 million energy center, which combines three programs under one roof: welding, HVAC, and oil and gas electronics.
The oil and gas electronics program is part of the Electronics Engineering Technology degree and it’s designed to prepare students for careers in the bustling energy industry. The program creates electronics professionals for work at compressor stations, energy facilities, and on pipeline projects. Students will learn electronics, instrumentation and automation skills to monitor extraction, storage and transmission of oil and gas resources.
With this oil and gas electronics degree, PTI grads will be prepared to meet the demand for midstream industrial and commercial automation technicians. With their state of the art Emerson Electronics Lab, students will learn the fundamentals of level, temperature, pressure and flow control.

The PTI Welding Technology program is designed to help meet the demand for skilled industrial and commercial welders, particularly in the dynamic oil and gas industry. Classes are held in the new PTI welding lab with 36 state of the art welding booths including 24 Oxy Acetylene stations for all types of welding. Students taking this curriculum will learn MIG, TIG, and Stick welding using the most innovative equipment.
Students will learn necessary skills such as blueprint reading, exotic metal welding, pipe welding, and more as they prepare for various types of certifications including the SENSE Certification and the American Welding Society Certification.
The idea for this energy education has been in the works for the past four years. With the expansion of the oil and gas industry in the region and at a time when America is now the world’s leader in energy exploration, PTI saw the need to provide the energy industry with quality graduates needed to fill these key positions.

Now the only thing missing is an oil rig. It only seems fitting since the college is putting its stamp on the oil & gas industry; however, PTI president Greg DeFeo says, “the school isn’t seeking proposals just yet.”

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Kelly Grago was born and raised in the quaint town of Sewickley, Pennsylvania. She is a recent graduate of Robert Morris University where she earned a B.A. in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. Kelly currently works as an Intern in External Affairs for Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation where her responsibilities include writing for Cabot’s social media, scheduling content and event planning.