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Bechtel has an immediate need for 500 craft labor people and is taking the search directly to Port Arthur and surrounding communities.

A Bechtel Job Fair is planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 17 at Robert A. “Bob” Bowers Civic Center.

Local Program Director Helene Blair said organizers are expecting approximately a 1,000 people to attend, with Bechtel’s workforce development team in place to vet candidates the same day.

The public is invited.

“We go to the local community first and would love to just source the local community,” Blair said. “We always start with the local community, starting first with Port Arthur and going to different counties in the region.”

Bechtel, a global leader in the field, is leading construction in Sabine Pass at the site of Port Arthur LNG.

Construction leaders say the effort, which has gone on for more than five years, has led to more than 1,000 new jobs and an anticipated 5,000-plus total jobs at peak construction.

Port Arthur is expected to serve as a flagship energy hub for America’s growing leadership role in the supply for global natural gas.

“I think (the job fair is) a great opportunity for Bechtel to hire the local people in the community and support the local community,” Blair said. “That is our focus. We support the community in different avenues.”

Depending on the permitting process through Texas and the federal government for future construction phases, Bechtel will be in Port Arthur for the next five to ten years.

“The project is still growing, and hopefully we can be a part of that,” Blair said.

Attendees to the May 17 job fair should bring identification and job history details.

“We bring them in, have them fill out paperwork and it is usually on an iPad, then they are called in for an interview,” Blair said.

“This is the first time we are having just a Bechtel Job Fair.”

The job fair outreach follows Bechtel’s effort providing equipment and systems to empower area high school students with simulated welding learning opportunities.

The global engineering and construction firm donated virtual reality learning equipment and systems March 27 to the independent school districts of Port Arthur and Nederland.

“This innovative technology uses VR welding experiences to ‘open the eyes’ of high school students about exciting career choices and pathways in the growing LNG industry,” said Kane McIntosh, Port Arthur LNG Project Manager at Bechtel.

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