ORANGE COUNTY, Texas — A major project is expected to bring thousands of jobs to the Golden Triangle and those over it are helping to ensure area residents are prioritized come hiring.
Golden Triangle Polymers Company LLC, a joint venture owned by Chevron Phillips Chemical and an indirect subsidiary of QatarEnergy, has made $400,000 in donations to help support Local First. The company is collaborating with Orange County and Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas.
Local First is a program that prioritizes hiring locally to fill jobs at new businesses and manufacturing facilities such as the Golden Triangle Polymers plant.
The Golden Triangle Polymers Project is under construction in Orange County and is set to be a world-class integrated polymers facility. The project is expected to bring more than 500 full-time jobs and about 4,500 construction jobs to the area.
It is also expected to generate an estimated $50 billion for the community in residual economic impacts over 20 years.
Chevron Phillips Chemical is managing engineering, procurement and construction for the project and will operate the facility after start-up, according to the release. Local First will help workers and businesses throughout the Golden triangle to compete for opportunities through public communications, public fairs and information sessions, and resource referrals.
“Hiring local talent and supporting businesses in the area is important to Golden Triangle Polymers,” David Godard, project director for the Golden Triangle Polymers Project, said. “We’re excited about the community collaborations we’ve developed to promote and manage Local First over the next four years,”
The company first donated $200,000 to Orange County to expand its economic development program to include the Golden Triangle Polymers Project.
"Orange County has a long history of supporting business growth, and the Local First program will help us continue to do that,” Orange County Judge John Gothia said. “We look forward to this collaboration and hope it will help our local small-business community be competitive when bidding for work on the project.”
The company then made a second $200,000 donation to Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas to expand workforce development efforts in the Golden Triangle region.
Workforce Solutions created an online job database that includes available jobs from the project and a list of the primary companies carrying out engineering, procurement and construction work.
“The job portal we created is a one-stop-shop solution for people interested in working on the project. It’s much easier to go to one website than seven different websites to find work,” Mary Hammon, executive director of Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas, said. “This collaboration will allow Workforce Solutions to stay true to its mission to help job seekers put their best foot forward when competing for work.”
Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas has a storefront that is located at 2415 N 16th Street. in Orange. Job seekers can go to the storefront for basic screening, online application assistance and referral to area education institutions if additional training or certification is needed.
As part of the Local First program, Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas will also host job fairs that are free and open to the public.
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