Aera Energy is taking a unique approach to teaching employees.
Its called Aera Academy.
The 14,000 square foot Aera Academy is a one-of-a-kind center in the Bakersfield area, providing Aera employees with a unique place to learn, collaborate and innovate.
Aera Academy features floor-to-ceiling images of oilfield processes and equipment, and provides unique venues for collaboration
The Aera Academy is not a traditional learning center filled with classrooms and computers. While those predictable components are in place, the Academy takes an unexpected turn by utilizing wall space and the buildings weight bearing pillars as visual teaching tools.
Floor-to-ceiling images depict various production processes and equipment, which aid in learning about the lifecycle of an oil field. Aera's commitment to workplace safety, active community involvement and implementation of lean processes are all visually represented. The building's interior pillars have been turned into well bores, illustrating what takes place underground during the drilling process.
"Everything in the Academy is geared to enhancing the learning experience of our employees. The physical layout of the space is designed to facilitate learning through a multi-sensory experience," said Stan Gomes, director of the Aera Academy. "We are providing employees with a new way to approach learning and process improvement. We want them to be collaborative and innovative as well as feel energized by the work they do."
The Academy also helps connect employees, especially those newer to the company, with the foundational elements of the Aera culture. Aera's culture is driven by "The Aera Way" of doing business and a purpose, vision and values, which are at the heart of all business objectives.
"The Academy is essential in helping to transfer knowledge from our long-time employees to those joining the company. We know that in the next few years a large number of our employees will be retiring. We have been preparing for this 'crew change' for a number of years," added Gomes. "We offer employees an extensive onboarding process, mentoring and training as well as ongoing development for leaders. The Academy provides us with a place to bring all our learning and development into one place."
Aera Academy by the numbers
• 14,000 square feet of newly remodeled learning space
• 12,000 safe construction hours in 99 days
• 11,954 pounds of concrete poured
• 50,000 feet of data cable installed
• 80 amps of electrical service replaced by 15 amps of LED lighting
• 486 pieces of sheet rock hung with 31,104 screws
• 549 on-site classroom offerings
• 60 teaching monitors
• 50 Aera course instructors
• 135 courses last year
• 6,697 total employee classroom learning experiences last year
