Even before it officially opened, students filled the classroom space at a new workforce development center in Tangipahoa Parish. Shell Oil unveiled their $21 million facility on Wednesday.

"It's a major investment in Louisiana, in Tangipahoa Parish and it increases Shell's footprint in the area," said Shell Vice President of Production--Americas Frank Glaviano.

The ribbon cutting drew local and state politicians, including Gov. Bobby Jindal, who cited the facility as one way of making the state more business-friendly.

"It's important for the future of Louisiana," Gov. Jindal said. "We've now cut taxes, we've got stronger ethics laws, now we can show companies we will provide them with skilled workers."

The skilled workers training at the new center will go towards one of the state's major industries-- oil and gas. The facility will not just be used to train Shell employees, but also workers from more than 100 other companies related to the industry.

"We feel like this is really vital training -- like being a mechanic or an electrician or an instrument technician -- are the kind of skills we need in a high tech oil industry," Glaviano said.

One reason the training is deemed so crucial has a lot to do with age. The average age of a worker in the oil and gas industry is 50 -- and there is a pressing need to train a new generation.

"We're going to have a lot of folks, presently employed by Shell and the industry, leaving within the next ten years," said Tom Broom, the company's operations learning manager.

Beyond workforce training, though, the facility will also serve as a backup command center and hurricane shelter for employees and their families and pets. The center was built to withstand a Category-3 storm passing over the Northshore -- the equivalent of a Category-5 hurricane hitting the coast.

"Knowing that they're loved ones are in a safe place allows us to get that production flowing much faster than if our employees evacuated around the country and then had to make their way back," Broom said.

The facility also features a dormitory-style residence hall for workers who will be receiving job training over a period of several days to several weeks.