Sunoco sends $100G to DCCC for new tech job-training program

MARPLE >> In 2002, Delaware County Community College started its process-control program in response to the needs of the Sunoco refinery in Marcus Hook.

Fifteen years later, they are still partnering to prepare the workforce for the local job market.

The college announced a $100,000 grant from Sunoco Logistics Tuesday that will help fund training and education for process-control technology jobs. The investment will provide students from Delaware and Chester counties with the skills to explore high-paying career paths in industries such as natural gas, oil distribution, food processing and pharmaceutical manufacturing. College, company and county representatives were present for the event in the college’s Advanced Technology Center.

“As the Marcus Hook refinery takes on new life as the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex, process-control technology takes on new life and this is a tremendous opportunity for us to help provide the needed fulltime employees,” said college President Dr. Jerry Parker. “As the shovel goes into the ground for Mariner East 2, we want to be in a position to have the talent here in Delaware County.”

The oil and natural gas boom throughout the nation, and specifically Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale pipeline, has created the need for well-trained process-control technicians at automated manufacturing and production facilities. The grant, a project four years in the making, will be divided among equipment, scholarships and marketing.

The college’s certificate program, which can be completed in less than a year, helps transition into a career with an annual salary of $50,000-$80,000.

“These are great jobs that pay double the Bureau of Labor Statistics median salary of $849 a week and $250 a week more than the $1,270 for graduates with a BS,” said Sunoco Logistics Senior Government Affairs Manager Joe McGinn Jr. “The jobs aren’t easy, with 12-hour shifts often out in the weather, but you don’t need a master’s degree and there are a lot of companies that are ready to scoop up your students.”

One of those students, Britney Spinelli of Marcus Hook, grew up “with the Sunoco towers around me.” As a teen, she was the only girl the borough’s fire department cadet program and prided herself on the ability to do “whatever the guys could do.” Spinelli, a Sunoco Logistics grant recipient who works two jobs and goes to school full time, is slated to receive her certificate in spring 2018.

“Your generosity means more to the students in this program than you can imagine,” she said. “It not only means that the process-control tech certification program will continue to exist, teaching students like me how to have a safe and lengthy career, but it also shows that Sunoco Logistics believes in us.”

While the focus was on Sunoco, Karen Kozachyn, dean of workforce development and community education, reminded those in attendance process control spans multiple industries.

“Process control is not just refining, even though we have provided a significant impact on Sunoco’s workforce,” she said. “From petro chemicals to donuts, it’s all process control.”