NEDERLAND — Nederland City Council honored five new employees from the Bechtel and PA LNG Group on Monday.

“I really fell in love with welding and I really didn’t know a lot about the refineries here,” said Fernando Barraja, one of the five students honored on Monday.

Barraja was selected to be in Bechtel’s pipefitting program at Nederland High School and has now been guaranteed an apprenticeship with the company.

This marks the second group of students from Nederland High School to be given this opportunity to have a job straight out of high school. 

The program started a year ago with a meeting between Bechtel and local schools about donating pipe-fitter tools and virtual reality welding equipment for classrooms. 

Bechtel Senior Project Manager Kane McIntosh explained how Southeast Texas is uniquely positioned to help these high schoolers achieve an education while offering stability with the nearby plants. 

“It’s hard to convince someone you can go through all this training and we will hire you, then you might have 6 months left. Here these guys get their education in school and easily work their way from apprentice to journeymen on our job site,” said McIntosh.

Students are already in the field with Bechtel working on aboveground and underground pipes while learning different aspects of the profession. 

“It feels pretty great, like it’s a blessing really, it’s been a journey, but I am very blessed,” said Ian Irwin, one of the five students honored on Monday.

These students have been given an offer from PA LNG and Bechtel to work as apprentices on site. They will be working on the completion of the natural gas plant in the area that was recently approved for Phase 2 project in July and is expected to be completed in 2028.

Bechtel hopes to continue and grow this collaborative effort for years to come.

“Our idea is to keep expanding, keep bringing these younger folks in and keep building up,” said McIntosh.