The Phillips 66 Process Technology Center at Sowela is one step closer to being expanded thanks to a $1 million donation from Phillips 66.

Local leaders from Sowela Technical Community College, Phillips 66 and surrounding municipalities gathered at the center Wednesday morning to celebrate the donation with a check presentation.

The process technology center is a regional education hub for students that plan to enter the oil and gas career field. Sowela Chancellor Neil Aspinwall explained that a primary initiative of Sowela is workforce and economic development.  Under that initiative, training students for the petrochemical industry is one of the largest sectors.

According to Sowela, industrial plants hire on average four process operators for every engineer. Aspinwall said that this expansion is a necessity. As the enrollment in the process technology program continues to rise, the need for a larger facility has become increasingly apparent.

The building currently sits at 12,500 square feet; After the additions are complete the facility will be 16,000 square feet. In addition to doubling the facility’s lab space, the 3,500 square foot expansion will include a new classroom, more storage space and a faculty lounge and restrooms.

This expansion will increase process technology students’ hands-on learning opportunities. Sowela process technology student Michael Morlaes, said that about 70 percent of the instruction has been hands-on, and he has seen firsthand the need for a bigger space in his 12 months in the program.

“It’s gonna make it to where the students are even more prepared for the real world. A textbook looks like one thing, real life looks completely different, and you can only learn so much from a book.”

Westlake Mayor Hal McMillin called industry his livelihood. He said that when he first became an operator, he got his tangible experience from the “school of hard knocks.” Now, employees enter the field with the education they need to succeed as soon as they graduate. This is a reality he is grateful for.

“When they go out there, they have so much knowledge. … We need good, strong business type operators that can get in there and do the work straight off.”

The facility opened in 2012, and is one of the first buildings that was opened after Aspinwall began working at the institution. Over 10 years ago, Phillips 66 financially contributed to the creation of the center. He said that in alignment with Sowela’s “long-standing partnership” with Phillips 66, they were the first industry partner to “step up to the plate” when conversations about the expansion began.

Scot Tyler, general manager, Phillips 66 Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, agreed that the partnership “runs deep.”

Phillips 66 has had roots in Southwest Louisiana for over 80 years, he said, and the employees at the site are a “key part” of the industry’s success. These employees are funneled from educational institutions like Sowela and McNeese State University, and rely on quality education and first-hand training to continue a tradition of excellence, he said.

The $1 million investment into the center’s expansion will continue to “foster community vitality” for all in SWLA, he continued.

“It stretches beyond the employees that we see at Phillips 66. All of the industry benefits from the students that come from this program.”

Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter echoed this sentiment.

“Sowela 15 years ago looked very different than today, and we are in a thriving campus that really gives a great aesthetic look to this city. … Whenever industry, Phillips 66, writes a check to Sowela, in my eyes, that’s like them writing a check for this entire community.”

Morlaes noted that SWLA is in a unique position of having a high number of well-paying industry jobs that offer benefits. Often, Sowela students have a streamlined experience in which they get to graduate and achieve early on in their adulthood; He will complete the program in one year thanks to transferred credits.”

“It’s something that our area has that’s very rare, but it’s amazing once you get into the world. It’s one of the funnest things I’ve ever done and it’s pretty cool that Lake Charles, Westlake, Sulphur, all of the areas around here have this opportunity.”

The total cost of the expansion is $1.7 million. The official timeline of the expansion’s development will be determined once the project is fully funded.