OJT: Passport towards Reality

By Louis Jhay Kimverly S. Palmes

Medrano in her safety suit at Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp

“Little things could be taken negligible but understanding the basics could be and the only way to connect to the bigger world. Learn, understand and appreciate what you have right now in order to survive in the future because that’s just the way it is.”

  

There’s a world beyond the university life that personifies the knowledge and values that travels towards the deepest core of an individual’s mind. After a three- or four-year sharpening in the academe, students are exposed to the real world as they experience the life of a worker in an industry.

 The first batch composed of 19  Chemical Engineering students of SOTECH underwent On-Job-Training (OJT) in different industries last April-May 2011. OJT companies included the following: Central Azucarera de San Antonio (CASA) in Passi City, Victorias Milling Company and Distileria de Bago in Negros Occ., Cargill in Gensan City, Pilipinas Shell in Batangas City, Asia Brewery in Cabuyao, Laguna, and Universal Robina Corporation in San Fernando City, Pampanga.

Being a neophyte on the road, the seniors went through difficult times. Connections and access to companies were scarce but it just made the process more exciting and challenging. And Ms. Hilda Luzelle Medrano got lots of stories to tell.

(L-R) Velasco (BS ChE UPD), Medrano (BS ChE UPV), Solis (BS ChE UST), 

Cristobal (BS ME UST), Ramolete (BS ME UPD) Genoza (BS ChE MCL)

Everything goes down to the basics. It all started with the search for the “right” company or industry. Resumés were sent to all possible preferred companies. Most grabbed the opportunities coming from unfamiliar places that promised extraordinary experiences. Others considered companies which were accessible to their hometowns.

Ms. Medrano was accepted in both Victorias Milling Corporation (VicMiCo) and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (PSPC), which left her hanging for some time as to which company to choose. After discussing the matter with her classmates and Dr. Jose Ali Bedaño, class adviser, she chose PSPC.

And so on March 31, 2011, Ms. Medrano went through the Safety Training which is a requirement for new recruits and trainees to the company. After passing the training, she became officially part of the Technology Department under the Process Technology and started with her job last April 11, 2011. Work started at 7 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m. Sometimes, this extended until 6 p.m. if necessary.

PSPC offers world-class accommodation for trainees. She was accommodated in a mansion-like house together with two other female trainees. Each one was given a room but after seeing how large the room was, they decided to share a room. It was bigger than a SOTECH lecture room, making it too large to accommodate one person alone. Also, each room had cold and hot shower.

The trainees lived healthily since daily they had to walk from their house to work, through  a 1 km pathway that passed through the main road and another 1-km passing through the golf course.

According to Ms. Medrano, her first-hand experience was more on internship than an OJT. It involved doing research to help the supervisor with the development of some studies. She was exposed to the field and was toured around the plant. Along the process, she admitted to her boss that she doesn’t have enough knowledge on the field work. Fortunately, her boss was very willing to help her by giving advices and information about the nature of the work. She absolutely learned a lot of things from PSPC.

It wasn’t just all about work. The experience became the entry point towards expanding connections and social circles. She met new friends from other schools who have the same past time on swimming and other common sports. It became the battlefield in learning about balancing your life and managing your time properly.

Safety is highly emphasized and valued. In response to this, every Fridays at ten in the morning, drills on possible calamities are conducted. Safety measures such as (1) hand grills of stairs must be used and (2) any incident, small or big, must be reported, were taught.

Being exposed to the same environment for a long time leads to immunity. This becomes a danger for the employees due to the difficulty to detect gas leaks which could result to explosion.

“There was a time when the same circumstance occurred but everybody seemed to be normal. I and the trainees were really bothered with the unusual odor that surfaced so before everything got worse, we reported such observation. The management found out that there was really a leak,” said Ms. Medrano. “Good thing there were fresh faces in the house,” she added.

The experience could extract many thoughts and things that students neglect most of the time. The things that an individual learn in the academe, big or small, makes a difference in the future especially in one’s career. One must not forget the knowledge gained because it takes time to recap it. Also, the OJT made her realize that the School of Technology needs to heighten or improve the exposure of students on field for future purposes.

College may be serious and tough but have we thought of what’s ahead of us before drawing into such conclusion? Little things could be taken negligible but understanding the basics could be and the only way to connect to the bigger world. Learn, understand and appreciate what you have right now in order to survive in the future because that’s just the way it is. ■