The $249,955 grant came from the Texas Workforce Commission's Skills Development Fund, which assists Texas employers with their customized training needs.

The grant will fund classroom and hands-on training for 240 people in general craft construction skills. Becon will provide and/or certify instructors. Qualified graduates will receive jobs with Becon at the recently announced Motiva refinery expansion project, the largest of its kind in the United States.

Demand for skilled craft workers is great in the Gulf Coast, especially in Port Arthur, where the Motiva project has just received a notice to proceed. Becon is a principle construction contractor on the project, and will officially open its Employment and Community Center in Port Arthur Oct. 1.

Prior to receiving this grant, the state college trained 82 local residents, two dozen of whom have been employed on various Bechtel projects in the region, said Bob Deatherage, Becon's manager of industrial relations. He credits collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission, LSC-PA, Motiva, the City of Port Arthur, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and the Regional Workforce Alliance for this early success.

"Here in the Golden Triangle [of southeast Texas], we are blessed with a boom in construction," Deatherage said. "But construction employment growth will be curtailed unless we can develop local workforce skills. There are many other owners and contractors across the nation watching our area to see how we do it."

To enroll in the training, contact the Texas Workforce Commission's Port Arthur office at 409.962.1236 or visit www.texasworkforce.org.

Based in San Francisco, Bechtel is one of the world's premier engineering, construction, and project management companies. Since its founding in 1898, Bechtel has worked on more than 22,000 projects in 140 countries on all seven continents. Today its 40,000 employees are teamed with customers, partners, and suppliers on hundreds of projects in nearly 50 countries.