Energize Alberta | Special Issue - April 2011

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April 2011

where energy, the economy, and the environment intersect

Special Issue: Education, Training & Careers

Photo: Schulich School of Engineering

Baby boom echoes in the patch New crop of engineers and geoscientists is set to emerge

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Graham Chandler Energize Alberta

ifteen years ago, University of Toronto professor David K. Foot penned a bestseller with a title that’s become a household term: Boom, Bust and Echo, which forecasts the social and economic effects of the baby boom. As if on cue, thousands of engineers and geoscientists in Alberta’s energy industry face retirement, and efforts are stepping up to replace an expected serious labour shortfall in those professions.

In its March 2011 update on the state of the oil and gas labour market, the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada (PHRCC) had some jaw-dropping forecasts. Hiring projections for 2010-2020 were calculated for three energy pricing scenarios: low oil/low gas, growth oil/ low gas ($90-$115 per barrel of crude and current gas prices) and growth oil/growth gas ($90-$115 oil and $10-$15 per thousand cubic feet of gas by 2020). Total hiring needs expected? Estimates call for about 2,300, 3,000 and 7,400 engineers and in the neighbourhood of 1,200, 1,400 and 1,900 geosciences professionals, respectively, under the three outlooks.

Startling numbers, to be sure.

“The timing might vary a bit from discipline to discipline, but the critical shortages appear to be in petroleum, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering,” figures Len Shrimpton, chief operating officer of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA). “The geosciences problem does not seem to be as acute.”

With the upswing in heavy oil projects now, he says industry is complaining it can’t find the types of skilled workers needed,

U of C students studying reservoir imaging and simulation.

“That is key,” says Cheryl Knight, the council’s executive director and chief executive officer.

“The second thing is our CareersinOilandGas.com web portal and career awareness programs.” Knight explains that the website offers occupational summaries for career counsellors and high-level summaries for young people to get a flavour for the job. It also provides skills assessment tools to help people

WAGE AND SALARY INFORMATION FOR SELECTED OCCUPATIONS Occupation

Average Hourly Wage Starting After 3 years

Top

Average Annual Salary

$39.39

$60.74

$105.40

Petroleum, gas & chemical process operators

$34.15

$34.80

$36.91

$72,325

Truck drivers (oil & gas extraction)

$22.93

$26.86

$30.28

$64,128

Petroleum engineer

$124,686

SOURCE: 2009 Alberta Wage and Salary Survey

“And it wouldn’t take that many more to make it a huge problem.

Alberta’s economy could be seriously dampened.”

Planning ahead It’s certainly not going unnoticed.

PHRCC provides up-to-date data and market-based analyses to help industry plan its hiring.

test their aptitudes for different oil and gas occupations.

And steering youth to the site has gone modern, she notes. “We are using more social media— Twitter and Facebook. We also have a specialized newsletter, and we are creating a job board.”

Other outreach efforts include presentations to schools,

post-secondary institutions and aboriginal groups. “We do a lot of work with immigrant and aboriginal organizations,” says Knight.

“And we’re targeting women in oil and gas.”

She notes that immigrants make up eight per cent of the industry’s core occupations, “But when you look at the number of immigrants in the workforce that are in those occupations that we hire for, there is about 20 per cent.”

Upgraded and expanded APEGGA has been upgrading its outreach program for several years and is now expanding it.

“We’re formalizing relationships with school boards at more strategic levels like the superintendent level,” says Shrimpton.

“More importantly, we’re mounting a significant enhancement to encourage both women and aboriginals. We are building a funding partnership with the Alberta government, the federal government and, we hope, half-adozen Alberta corporations.”

APEGGA’s program has two components: going into schools to talk about engineering and

geosciences, and having that backed up with a significant online presence. Looking at the long term, Shrimpton says the school outreach is crucial at two levels.

“First, you’ve got to keep kids in math and sciences at the elementary level,” he says. “Then at some point you’ve got to turn them on specifically to our professions.”

This usually happens in junior high, according to Shrimpton.

“And during that period we are enhancing our mentoring program, especially in the aboriginal community because they don’t have the support systems other students do. We have started that on a limited basis in Edmonton and Calgary, but we hope to expand it to more rural areas soon.”

Industry likes it: many companies volunteer speakers because they want to have their employees out in the community.

“We are hearing that it fits their community investment strategies to a tee,” says Shrimpton.

APEGGA is also a patron sponsor of WinSETT—the Canadian Centre for Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and ❯❯ continued on page 2

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April 2011 • Energize Alberta

Special Issue • Education, Training & Careers

Continued from page 1

Photo: Schulich School of Engineering

Baby boom Technology—which has a mandate to encourage more women to pursue leadership roles in these fields.

Together they’re developing a series of seminars. “They have the understanding to set up the seminars and we have the ability to expose our members to them,” says Shrimpton.

Universities buy in Alberta universities are stepping up, too. “Because of expected increase in demand, in 2006-2007 the Schulich School of Engineering started taking extra students in oil and gas engineering,” says Anil Mehrotra, interim dean at the University of Calgary faculty. “The school increased enrolment from 16 to 40.”

Added to that were another 40 spots for petroleum minors. “These are chemical and mechanical engin-

Two key points to ponder

1. Hiring projections for engineers and geosciences professionals over the coming decade are as low as 3,500 and as high as 9,300, according to the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada.

2. As oilsands projects begin to ramp up again, industry is starting to talk about the lack of skilled workers.

A labour shortage could very quickly put the brakes on Alberta’s economic growth.

eering students whose training is applicable in the oilpatch.”

Mehrotra adds that in the future they may look at increasing enrolment in the master’s and PhD programs to meet demand for more highly qualified personnel.

In the University of Calgary’s geosciences department, it seems the boom is already on.

“We are already seeing that increased demand,” says Adam Pidlisecky, assistant professor. “We’re on the order of 400 [undergraduates] in the geosciences program.”

He says they’re graduating about 40 geophysics students a year, “pretty

Students learn some of the tricks of the trade in a chemical and petroleum engineering lab at the University of Calgary. well at max capacity.” Increases in the number of geology students are seen as well. “And we are seeing a lot more demand both in thesis-based and course-based master’s degrees.”

The department’s approach of exposing students to industry helps steer them towards oilpatch professions as well. “In our field program, students work in teams and their final evaluation takes place at an industry presentation downtown,” says Pidlisecky.

“So they’re face to face with leading industry geophysicists. We align the teaching goals of the course with what industry is looking for in future hire candidates. It cuts down lag times [between industry feedback and course content] by getting direct interface with industry,” he adds, noting that for the students, the course is also a chance to job network.

At the University of Alberta, working with industry has also become the rule, not the exception.

“We’ve created a one-year, coursebased master’s between us and the geology department called integrated petroleum geosciences,” explains Doug Schmitt, professor of geophysics.

“In its second year now, it has gotten industry support, for example [from] ConocoPhillips. Industry sends their promising graduates onto the program.”

Schmitt says they also organize seminars where industry geophysicists talk to the students about their career paths and what they do.

It all helps students choose an energy discipline after graduation.

Some careers worth examining: “Where we’re seeing increased demand is cost-control engineers, mining

U of C welcomes surge in energy student enrolments

T

here’s no shortage of young people entering relevant energyrelated programs at the University of Calgary.

“We have more students applying to our programs than we can take,” says U.T. Sundararaj, head of the chemical and petroleum engineering department at the U of C’s Schulich School of Engineering.

“The job market has been soft for the last couple of years, but we are seeing a slow rebound and it is hopeful for jobs over the next year,” Sundararaj says. “The problem may be that those folks who were laid off in the last couple of years are looking for jobs along with our graduates.”

One sign of the rebound is the number of students on internships, which are work terms for students before their final year of engineering. U of C has 276 engineering students on internship placements this year, up from 220 last year, says Jennifer Sowa, engineering school spokeswoman.

In 2006-07, the Schulich School of Engineering more than doubled the number of students accepted into its oil and gas engineering programs to 40 per year from 16, Sowa says.

In response to rising demand for engineers of all types, the twitter.com/energizealberta

engineers, and electrical or instrumentation engineers,” offers PHRCC’s Knight. “And, as industry gets more involved in unconventional resources, increased demand for geoscientists for those complex basins will be required.”

Schulich’s Mehrotra encourages prospective engineering students.

“There’s a strong demand for engineers in Alberta,” he says. “This year, the number of our students on paid internship rose to 276 from 220.”

And for prospective geophysicists, U of A’s Schmitt says it’s a secure and long-term career, so go for it. “The students who have done that always seem to stay in geophysics—and there’s going to be a shortage.”

Players on the stage 1. Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (www.apegga.com) 2. Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada (www.petrohrsc.ca) 3. Schulich School of Engineering (www.eng.ucalgary.ca) 4. University of Alberta (www.ualberta.ca) Going broader, deeper 1. Careers in Oil and Gas (www.

CareersinOilandGas.com) 2. Canadian Centre for Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology (www.ccwestt.org/WinSETT/tabid/56/ Default.aspx) Feedback Do you think enough is being done to deal with the effects of the coming wave of baby boomer retirements? Let us know at yourenergy@energizealberta.com.

school is currently in the midst of an expansion campaign to create more student space. If more space becomes available, the school’s overall undergraduate enrolment would increase by about 10 per cent, though the specific disciplines haven’t been decided.

Meanwhile, U of C has the biggest geology and geophysics program in North America with about 700 students enrolled—a record, explains Dave Eaton, a geophysics professor and head of the geoscience department. That includes about 500 undergraduate and 200 graduate students in geology, geophysics, and applied and environmental geoscience.

Based on what students are telling him, Eaton says geoscience students appear to be having a tough time finding work right now.

However, he notes the Alberta government’s occupational demand and supply outlook report predicts demand for geoscientists will outstrip supply in a few years.

“And this is driven by demographics in the oil industry,” Eaton says, adding this applies much more to geoscience that other disciplines such as engineering. “That’s also supported by statistics collected by the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences [in] an employment survey a few years ago.”

— Pat Roche, Energize Alberta

New look, new energy at www.energizealberta.com Check out the upgraded energizealberta.com website for additional stories, polls, a link to the Energy IQ quiz and a searchable archive of past editions.

You can also comment on our stories and forward them to friends. In addition, the site houses a directory of key players on the energy literacy stage.

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Education, Training & Careers • Special Issue

Electricity sector is thinking ahead when it comes to training—and recruiting—new talent

A Jim Bentein Energize Alberta

fter 23 years in the newspaper business, the last 20 of which were spent working as a reporter and editor for the Edmonton Sun, Tim le Riche saw the writing on the wall—and he didn’t like what he was reading.

“The media business was going through significant downsizing,” says le Riche, 51, who joined Edmonton-based EPCOR Utilities four years ago and is now its supervisor of external communications.

“In that environment, training opportunities were almost unheard of. In the utility sector, training is part of the business.”

So much a part that the city-owned utility, which operates power transmission in Alberta and water systems in the province and elsewhere in North America, has someone on staff called its “senior manager of talent development.”

Maxine Clarke, who holds that title, says providing training opportunities for EPCOR’s 2,500 employees is a part of the company’s DNA and is necessary in the complex business in which it operates. However, it’s also a key part of staff retention.

“Our employees see that we’re investing in their development,” she says.

Despite this, and despite the fact that utility employees are well paid and have job security—not a single person was laid off by EPCOR during the 2008-2009 recession—offering staff training and other benefits is still vital, given the greying of the Canadian workforce.

“Any industry is likely to be touched by the demographic shifts,” says Clarke.

Not immune The utility sector will not be spared, she notes, pointing to a recent study by the Ottawa-based Electricity Sector Council (ESC).

The ESC warns that the sector, which employs 100,000 Canadians, will likely lose 30 per cent of those workers over the next five to six years due to retirement.

Meanwhile, utilities continue to be plagued by low recruiting numbers.

Clarke points to a shortage of engineers, technologists and power linepersons, in particular, as positions that are being hit particularly hard.

For instance, the shortage of linepersons became so acute, Calgary-based ENMAX had to import several experienced workers from the Philippines.

EPCOR is undertaking a comprehensive workforce planning review that will identify the critical skills it needs to concentrate on developing within its existing employees and new hires, says Clarke.

The company provides basic training to all employees, including an orientation, drug and alcohol training, and ethics training.

The cornerstone of the training program is the EPCOR School of Business, located at the company’s Edmonton head office.

Instructors this year are offering courses that include project management, managing in a unionized environment (virtually all of EPCOR’s employees are unionized), creative problem solving, conflict management and others. All courses are offered free to employees likely to benefit from them.

All newly promoted employees attend “management boot camp” at the school of business, while the company also offers a two-week leadership development course for management-level employees.

As well, the company offers funding for workers wanting to take diploma, certificate or degree courses at colleges or universities, in addition to training through associations, as long as that learning is job-related.

Each business unit sets aside $1,500 a year for employee training, with more funding set aside for “highpotential employees.”

The Red Deer centre is made up of classroom and office space, practical training rooms, a garage and storage spaces, and a detached shop, plus an operational training substation. The classroom and office space totals 12,500 square feet and consists of a computer room, a lab and demonstration areas.

In addition, there’s a 40-acre space where the company has a 25-kilovolt live power line (there’s also a 25 to 69 kilovolt substation on site), as well as outdoor power meters and other facilities.

Power line technicians are trained at the Red Deer centre, with apprentices undergoing a minimum of 1,525 hours of on-the-job training each year for the first three years, along with four to five weeks of technical training and exams.

In the fourth year, apprentices complete a minimum of 1,800 additional hours of onthe-job training before being certified as a journeyperson.

Each January and February, the company’s power line technicians attend upgrading training in Red Deer.

Three ATCO powerline technicians Building work on overhead transmission a Fortris lines. The company has developed FortisAlberta, its own in-house apprenticeship which oversees program as a means of combating 112,000 kilometres looming shortages in the trade. of distribution power lines and provides electricity to about 500,000 Albertans while employing over 1,000 people in the province, also has a number of initiatives aimed at retaining employees and attracting new ones.

“The attraction, development and retention of a skilled and engaged workforce have been key to FortisAlberta’s ongoing success in customer satisfaction and business performance,” explains company spokesman Kevin Haslbeck.

All new employees are required to complete online training that includes a company orientation, code of conduct, code of ethics and an introduction to worker safety issues.

Also, new staff are offered an electrical system overview at the company’s stateof-the-art Employee Development Centre, located in Red Deer. That course covers the basics of electricity, as well as an overview of the company’s system. It includes interactive displays and hands-on experience using power line equipment (EPCOR’s introductory course for new employees is similar).

Photo: ATCO Electric

Plugged in

Energize Alberta • April 2011

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Fortis also has an engineer-in-training program, individualized for each new hire.

It is aimed at enabling recent graduates to achieve the work requirements and practical experience they need to achieve the professional engineer status.

They also have the opportunity to work at other locations where the Fortis group of companies operates, including Newfoundland, Ontario, British Columbia and the Caribbean.

All employees must attend regular safety training sessions and field employees attend weekly safety meetings. In addition, all employees must take mandatory environmental training.

The company also offers succession planning, with a focus on development plans for leaders and employees in critical roles. This includes a mentoring program through which employees can be matched with more senior employees.

The company offers professional and life-skills training to all employees, including free online computer skills instruction, lunch-and-learn sessions, executive brown-bag lunches, workshops and financial planning sessions.

Fortis also pays 90 per cent of the costs of tuition and books for any post-secondary education that will benefit employees.

The grey wave ATCO Electric and ATCO Gas respectively provide power distribution and transmission and natural gas service to Albertans (ATCO Electric also provides power in the Yukon and other northern areas). Both are coping with a greying workforce and rapid growth.

The companies serve the fast-growing oilsands communities of northeastern Alberta and have a total of one million customers.

To deal with a serious shortage of linepersons, ATCO Electric developed its own apprenticeship program for the trade in Nisku, near Edmonton, in 1999.

The training takes four years and classes are limited to 12 apprentices.

The apprentices undergo five weeks of instruction and practice at ATCO’s Nisku training facility, then continue with onthe-job training, working throughout Alberta (or in the Yukon and Northwest Territories). After completing a fourth year with at least 1,800 hours in the field, they earn their journeyperson ticket.

“ATCO Electric’s lineman apprenticeship program is unique in the province,” says Mark Davis, senior training specialist at the Nisku facility.

The program, which features hands-on training, has a 95 to 98 per cent pass rate.

Although the program is available to all of ATCO Electric’s 1,600 employees, about 75 per cent of trainees sign on straight out of high school. Many of those get a head start on training by participating in Alberta Education’s registered apprenticeship program (RAP) while still in high school. Under RAP, students can work at the company and earn credits towards a high school diploma.

That’s how Andrew Belyan, a 21-yearold apprentice lineman from Grande Prairie, entered the trade. He’s going into his last year. ❯❯ continued on page 4

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Continued from page 3

Plugged in “RAP’s a great way to try a trade and see if you want to make a career of it,” he says.

Belyan first became interested in the trade in Grade 9, after spending part of a day with a lineperson.

He has high praise for the Nisku facility.

“The teachers are excellent and the hands-on [training] is great,” he says.

ATCO Electric and ATCO Gas have many of the same kinds of training and retention programs as other utilities—and for a good reason. Like many other industries in Alberta, the aging of the Canadian population means they will face challenges finding enough skilled workers and managers in the future.

“We’ll be dealing with the greatest number of retirements in 100 years as a company in the next two to three years,” says Alan Dixon, senior vice-president and chief engineer at ATCO Gas. “We’re a big company. We employ almost 2,000 people and I’d say half of those jobs will be open in the next four or five years.”

But he and Abby DiLabio, manager of human resources for the company, say it has a built-in advantage over many other companies when it comes to recruiting employees.

Special Issue • Education, Training & Careers “We have 70 offices in Alberta and we like to hire locally,” explains DiLabio, adding that this means most new hires are residents of the communities near those offices.

Dixon notes that most of the jobs with ATCO Gas, including those in the field and in its offices, require companyspecific training.

“We’ll take people out of Grade 12 and do internal training,” he says.

One notable exception is the gas fitter trade, for which apprenticeship training is required at one of Alberta’s post-secondary institutions and in the field.

The jobs at ATCO pay well (as do those at other utilities), with salaries starting at around $55,000 for most jobs and reaching up to $90,000 and above.

Dixon says the company has learned an important lesson about the younger generation of workers who are replacing the baby boomers.

“We find they look at their jobs differently,” he says. “They want a work-life balance.”

Many of the field jobs with the company require a good amount of training, which the company provides in classrooms and at work sites. That training is vital, adds Dixon.

“Safety is a must because we work with a product that can be dangerous, if not handled correctly.”

ATCO also will provide 100 per cent of the funding needed by employees wanting

Generating talent Direct Energy grooms the next generation Ashok Dutta Energize Alberta

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he electricity sector in Canada will have to come to grips with a growing mismatch in the labour supply and demand scenario. On its website, the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) says that some 105,500 workers are engaged in the electricity industry, 55 per cent of whom are 45 years and older.

“A growing percentage of the electricity workforce is approaching retirement,” CEA says, adding that an estimated 29 per cent of current employees are due for retirement by 2012.

Ottawa-based Educational Policy Institute (EPI), in a 2009 report prepared for the Electricity Sector Council, points out skilled labour shortages are a problem for many economic sectors both in Canada and globally.

According to the report, in the electricity sector there is an urgent need for the following designated “target occupations”:

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electrical power line and cable workers; power plant operators; power system operators and electricians; electrical, electronics, mechanical, civil and substation engineers and auxiliary equipment operators; electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians; construction millwrights and industrial mechanics; utilities managers; contractors and supervisors; accountants; and information systems analysts and consultants.

“The [electricity] industry is experiencing a significant loss of older, experienced workers due to retirement.

This will have a much bigger impact than any increase in demand arising from growth in the industry or changes in productivity in the next decade,” the EPI report warns.

It goes on to add that the projected number of post-secondary students enrolled in electricityrelated programs is well below the industry demand.

“This problem is further compounded as other

resource-based sectors, like mining and petroleum, and telecommunications and technology firms are growing at the same rate as electricity, thus intensifying the quest for domestically trained engineers. A promising solution is to engage in forward planning in partnership with colleges and universities,” EPI recommends.

No one is more aware of the benefits of cherrypicking fresh industry graduates to work in the electricity sector as Meghan Holmberg, head of graduate resources and development at Direct Energy, a large utility provider with operations across North America.

“Talent acquisition is a major recruitment method for us and new graduates are very much on our radar,” she says. “We typically recruit six to eight graduates per stream per year and recruitments are done twice a year. Our focus is on quality, rather than quantity. We now have a great source of talent and by the time the baby boomers retire, Direct Energy will be in pole position.”

Photo: ATCO Electric

April 2011 • Energize Alberta

Apprentice lineman Andrew Belyan says the registered apprenticeship program was instrumental in allowing him to pursue his chosen career path. more training, including those who want to study towards advanced degrees like an MBA or accounting staff who want to earn professional designations.

Aside from the fact that so many ATCO employees will be retiring in the next few In 2006, Direct Energy rolled out programs to attract new talent. The first was a technical stream targeting those graduating in engineering disciplines and the second a more generalist approach.

The technology program is a two-year rotational course comprised of three technical and two business rotations throughout North America within four of Direct Energy’s

years, the company is expanding rapidly to meet the needs of a growing province, Dixon says. For instance, it will spend $325 million this year on capital projects, some for new infrastructure and some to replace aging equipment.

The generalist program is aimed at recent or soonto-be graduates in any of the following disciplines: arts and humanities, business, economics, engineering, finance, language and culture, math, physics, and psychology.

“There is significant interest in the electricity sector and there is something about either climate or energy in the news every day,” Holmberg says.

Photo: Direct Energy

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Power plant employee Erin Lester is a graduate of Direct Energy’s internal recruitment program. principle lines of business—upstream and trading, residential, business, and home and business services. The projects graduates work on depend on the ones available at the time of the rotation. They include acquisition and integrations, business intelligence, customer data analysis, energy trading, regulatory and compliance and the upgrade of the distributed control systems.

Career opportunities are matched with financial rewards as well. Direct Energy offers a competitive compensation package in addition to a base salary, and participants are eligible for an annual bonus that is based on individual, company and line of business performance. In addition, on the first day of employment the company begins to contribute an additional three per cent of the annual base salary to a pension plan

and, after three months of employment, graduates are also eligible to participate in the employee sharepurchase plan.

Omar Halabieh, a graduate of Direct Energy’s class of 2006, says his experience in the initiative prepared him well.

“The diversity of placements has allowed me to learn the different facets that make up our core energy business, as well as develop and sharpen different skill sets every time,” he says. “What I liked most was the rotational aspect of the program, which allowed me to work in different [geographical] locations and also lines of the business.”

Derrick Khoo, currently enrolled in the program, explains that one unique aspect of the course is the opportunity to learn multi-faceted aspects of the industry.

“I am currently learning about commodity pricing and will next transition to the marketing team to learn about residential sales,” he says.

Holmberg adds: “It is fundamental for our new graduates to get exposure to all lines of business.

Electricity is very important in [Alberta] and we do not want to implement a cookie-cutter approach.”

Education, Training & Careers • Special Issue

Energize Alberta • April 2011

Situation critical Potential labour shortage a concern for petroleum sector

Thrown a curve Meanwhile, the federal government announced in midFebruary a change to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, under which employers can bring in foreigners to work in agriculture and other areas of high demand.

Employers will now have to show more evidence of a need to hire foreign workers and their stay will be shorter. Every year, over 90,000 temporary foreign workers enter the country.

The government also announced changes to requirements for permanent foreign workers entering Canada, under which just a few thousand enter the country annually.

Knight says she will be meeting with federal officials to make it clear the changes are a mistake.

“I don’t know if it’s politically driven [because of higher unemployment rates in Eastern Canada], but they must be seeing something different than what I’m seeing.”

She says the energy industry, which could face shortages of up to 130,000 workers if the industry continues to grow over the next decade, has been counting on skilled immigrants to fill future positions.

“All of the growth in the workforce will come from immigrants,” Knight says. “Why they would trim a program targeting skilled foreign workers is perplexing.”

If the PHRCC head sounds less diplomatic than most government bureaucrats, it’s because she considers her council to be independent.

“We’re not government,” Knight says. “We’re independent of both government and industry.”

She answers to a board of governors consisting mostly of those involved in the energy industry.

The council was established in 2001 in response to concerns from various industry groups over what they already saw as a looming skilled-labour crisis in Western Canada. And that was before oilsands development significantly ramped up, meaning the situation has only gotten worse.

Photo: PHRCC

“We are going into a perfect storm.

Just when the industry needs workers the most, Canada’s labour supply will be dwindling as the overall population ages.”

— Cheryl Knight, PHRCC Simple mandate Knight, who has been the head of human resources for the former Canadian Pacific (the conglomerate was subsequently dismantled, with its divisions spun off), and before that held a similar position at the University of Lethbridge, joined as the first PHRCC employee in March 2002.

With energy industry organizations noticing signs of pending worker shortages, the council was created because there was no overall body with a mandate to study where those shortages would be, how to engage educators at high schools, colleges and universities to help meet future demand, and how to attract future workers.

The council now has 12 employees and also regularly hires contract workers who have expertise in economics and other areas.

Simply put, its mandate “is to understand what job skills will be in demand in the future,” says Knight.

Its most important work is The Decade Ahead, a report that provides labour market projections and analysis to 2020, identifies labour supply/demand risks, and recommends workforce strategies for stakeholder consideration.

An updated version was released at the end of March.

In the latest report, PHRCC developed three scenario projections using varying levels of commodity pricing and corresponding industry activity:

Expanding labour pools One overriding goal of the council is to see more women, aboriginals and foreign workers attracted to the industry.

“We need a more diversified workforce,” says Knight. “Now 80 per cent of the skilled workers in the sector are men.”

It’s difficult to attract women because many of the jobs are in remote or semi-remote locations, she says. There’s also not a tradition of women entering the industry, other than in head offices.

Although foreign workers will be an important part of the solution, they alone will not solve the pending labour shortage, as many immigrants tend to be drawn to larger cities and are not attracted to living in isolated towns or other smaller centres where a good portion of oil and gas work is located.

And most aboriginals simply don’t have enough education to go into the industry, she explains.

“Very few aboriginals have Grade 12 and few are equipped to go into engineering, technological or the skilled trades areas,” says Knight, pointing to the fact that less than one per cent of aboriginal students major in science at the post-secondary level.

Knight suggests several solutions companies can use to encourage aboriginal participation in the industry, such as emphasizing math and science education, using hands-on learning and on-the-job training, and highlighting aboriginal role models.

According to the Alberta government, there were more than 1,500 aboriginals employed in the oilsands in 2008, not including construction jobs—that’s a 60 per cent increase from 1998.

— With files from Lynda Harrison

EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK FOR THE CANADIAN PETROLEUM INDUSTRY TO 2020 260,000 Actual

240,000 Number of Workers

he go-ahead in mid-February for the $5-billion first phase of a bitumen upgrader to be built near Edmonton will only worsen a looming skilled-labour supply crisis in the petroleum industry in Canada, says the head of an organization that tracks worker needs in the sector.

Cheryl Knight, executive director and chief executive officer of the Calgary-based Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada (PHRCC), one of over 30 sector councils established by Ottawa to help deal with worker shortages in industries ranging from health care to the energy sector, expects future worker shortages will be exacerbated by the North West Upgrading project, as well as the linked $495-million Enhance Energy project, which will pipeline carbon dioxide captured at the upgrader for use in enhanced oil recovery.

“I don’t see how it can’t [make the worker shortage more serious],” Knight admits. “We already have new oilsands projects competing with one another and, coupled with this announcement, we have concerns.”

The upgrader, initially intended to process 50,000 barrels a day of oilsands bitumen, is being kick-started by the government under its bitumen royalty-in-kind program, which sees the province receiving bitumen as royalties instead of cash. The government is supplying 37,500 barrels daily of discounted crude to the project. Eventually, North West plans to upgrade 150,000 barrels daily, about 10 per cent of existing bitumen production. The plant will create 8,000 construction-related jobs and as many as 2,500 long-term positions.

• A low scenario where low oil and gas prices do not encourage capital investment. Oilsands growth is limited to the addition of production from projects currently under construction. The industry would require 39,000 workers in this scenario.

• A growth oil/low gas scenario where gas prices remain low and discourage gas-related investment, but oil prices increase and encourage oil-related investment and activity, specifically in the oilsands. In this situation, industry would need to hire 53,500 workers.

• A growth scenario where capital investment is encouraged and growth occurs in both oil and gas-related activity, requiring over 130,000 workers.

According to Knight, shortages are expected across all the industry’s core occupations as early as 2013. The industry will be hiring at every occupation and skill level.

A major factor is the industry’s aging workforce. PHRCC estimates roughly 30 per cent of the core workforce is expected to retire over the next decade.

“We are going into a perfect storm,” Knight says. “Just when the industry needs workers the most, Canada’s labour supply will be dwindling as the overall population ages. Our industry will need to be prepared to face a labour shortage more severe than in 2007.”

The new reality is that labour supply is not unlike oil supply—the readily available sources are gone. Labour supply to ensure the sustainable expansion of Canada’s petroleum industry will take diversification, development and collaboration, Knight explains.

Projected

220,000 200,000 180,000 160,000 Growth Scenario

140,000

Growth Oil/Low Gas Scenario

Low Scenario

120,000 2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

The petroleum industry currently employs around 170,000 people in Canada, with over 76,000 new positions required to handle high growth in oil and gas activity.

2018

2020

Graph: PHRCC

T Jim Bentein Energize Alberta

5

www.energizealberta.com

6

April 2011 • Energize Alberta

Special Issue • Education, Training & Careers

Up to the challenge Jacqueline Louie Energize Alberta

S

tudents from across Canada and the United States are getting a chance to solve a realworld problem faced by Alberta’s energy industry.

The 2011 Alberta Energy Challenge (AEC) is a business-case competition that will take place at the University of Alberta in Edmonton this fall. It brings together top commerce students from across North America as they explore the opportunities and challenges faced by Alberta’s energy sector.

“It’s a huge opportunity for the business school and for the students,” says 2011 AEC competition chair Stephanie Stiles, a U of A accounting major who is in the fourth year of a bachelor of commerce degree.

“In Alberta, the energy sector plays such a huge role. The Alberta Energy Challenge is a great way to promote it.”

up of senior representatives from sponsoring firms, along with energy industry professionals.

In last year’s inaugural event, presenting sponsor Cenovus Energy had student teams look at the implications of “dirty oil” campaigns targeting the oilsands and what the company should do in response.

“It was a fantastic event to be a part of,” says Jennifer Pendura, Cenovus group lead, community relations and investment.

“It was incredibly valuable to Cenovus to have insights from students across Canada and North America on oilsands development, and suggestions for what Cenovus could be doing.”

In addition to Cenovus, several other companies took part in last year’s event, including CMA (Certified Management Accountants) Alberta, Nexen, Syncrude and OEM Remanufacturing, which brought in a motor from a 797 Caterpillar unit (one of the large haul trucks used in oilsands operations). The students were able to get a sense of the scale of the extraction technologies used in the oilsands.

“One of our main goals is to educate people.

We’d like to provide these people with all of the available information—the truth—about the energy sector.” — Stephanie Stiles, Alberta Energy Challenge The AEC is organized by a group of business students out of the Commerce Energy and Environment Group (CEEG), a studentrun organization within the Alberta School of Business at the U of A. Sixteen teams comprised of four undergraduate students will research and develop a comprehensive solution to a real-time challenge presented by the competition’s case sponsor, an Alberta energy company yet to be named by the organizers.

During the competition, which will take place in Edmonton from September 29 to October 2, the teams will make their presentations to a panel of judges made

Organizers are still lining up many of the details for this year’s event and they’re hoping to build on last year’s challenge, especially when it comes to attracting more companies to participate as sponsors.

This year, AEC organizers are expecting a total of 64 student delegates: 10 teams from Canada, four from the United States and two internationally. “We wanted to get a more global perspective,” says Stiles, noting that last year all but one of the participating teams—Penn State—were from Canada.

“One of our main goals is to educate people,” Stiles explains. “We’d like to provide these people with all of the available

15–17 NOVEMBER 2011

Photo: Karolina Zheng

Competition sees teams from North American universities tackle energy-related problems

Concordia University won the 2010 Alberta Energy Challenge. Team members (left to right) Amr Ezzat, Jonathan Lawrence-Ruel, Christopher Labrecque, Alain Grenier and Benoit Chevrier posed on the roof of the U of A business school after their victory. University of Saskatchewan placed second, and Penn State placed third. information—the truth—about the energy sector. Then they can make their decisions based on that, and go back to their schools and spread the knowledge.”

Finding out first-hand what actually goes on in the oil and gas industry is “just a mind-opening experience,” she adds.

The AEC is the only live, post-secondary energy-related competition of its kind that organizers know of, says Andrew Leach, assistant professor of energy and environmental management at the Alberta School of Business.

Competition organizers took their inspiration for the AEC from an interactive business-case competition held at the University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business. Four years ago, Leach took a team of U of A students to the Texas competition, which focuses on international business. During the competition, students worked on a real problem facing case presenter IBM and submitted their solutions to several members of the company’s executive team. “It was an amazing experience for the students,” Leach recalls.

The U of A group thought a similar competition focused on the energy industry would be a good fit for Alberta. The students founded CEEG, and worked to lay the groundwork for the Alberta Energy Challenge.

Leach works with the AEC’s student organizers as a faculty adviser, along with Joseph Doucet, Enbridge professor of energy policy at the Alberta School of Business.

“The Alberta Energy Challenge is a terrific opportunity for our students,” Doucet says. “The challenge provides a unique opportunity for our students to work on, and test themselves against, strategic challenges faced by energy industry firms.

This is a significant exercise, and brings our students one step closer to the real-life challenges that they will be facing as the next generation of leaders.”

Last year’s event was only open to business students. This year, organizers are opening up the competition to students from other disciplines as well. “With 16 teams of four students, two or three [bachelor of commerce] students combined with one engineer and/or one geology or environmental science student would probably be the ideal complement for a team,” Leach says.

One month before the competition, students will find out the company and the problem they will be working on. New this year, the teams will be given access to the extensive databases of JuneWarrenNickle’s Energy Group, publisher of Energize Alberta and several other energy-related publications, to help them research the company and the issues.

“It was a huge bonus for us to be able to offer that to the schools,” Leach says. “It’s not a stereotypical business competition, where business students arrive and have a very limited amount of time to propose a solution to a very complex problem. In this case, they are really given and encouraged to use the resources to build a complete solution.”

During the competition, an interdisciplinary panel of industry and academic consultants will be on hand to discuss the students’ ideas and help them fine-tune their presentations.

From the preliminary round, four teams will advance to the October 2 finals, which will be open to the public.

Details will be posted closer to the date at www.albertaenergychallenge.com.

Technology Changes Everything

CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA BMO CENTRE AT STAMPEDE PARK www.spe.org/events/curc twitter.com/energizealberta 11CURC_HH_1581_V__0311

www.csug.ca

www.spe.org

Energize Alberta • April 2011

7

Photo Source: Photos.com

Inside Education presents

gener

2011

today’s students, tomorrow’s energy

Thank you to the 20 teams of

Get smart Oil and gas industry association opens up educational opportunities for students Jacqueline Louie Energize Alberta

L

ast year, all Yulia Abramovich did was study and work. “I’d go to school, come back, go to work and by the time I got home it was 12:45 a.m.

I’d go to bed and wake up at 7 a.m.

It was just crazy,” says Abramovich, 20, who is in her third year of a BA degree at the University of Calgary.

But thanks to a $1,000 scholarship last year from the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) Education Fund, Abramovich was able to bump up her course load and take additional classes during the spring and summer.

The scholarship also allowed her to do a double major in psychology and philosophy. “I’m extremely grateful to the members of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada that have donated money for the scholarships. It was extremely helpful,” says Abramovich, who wants to do a master’s degree in psychology, in an area related to business or human resources, after completing her undergraduate degree. Once she’s done university, “oil and gas would be a great field to get into,” she says.

Abramovich was able to apply for the scholarship because her mother works in the oil and gas industry for a PSAC regular member company. PSAC, the national trade association for the upstream petroleum industry’s service, supply and manufacturing sectors, represents more than 255 member companies employing approximately 55,000 workers.

The PSAC Education Fund is intended to create greater awareness of career opportunities in the petroleum services

industry and strengthen relationships between the sector and local communities across Canada, with the ultimate goal of helping develop the industry’s future workforce.

“It’s all about giving back to the community and giving back to the PSAC membership,” says PSAC president and chief executive officer Mark Salkeld. “One of PSAC’s goals as an industry association is to promote awareness of the industry, and career and employment opportunities in the service sector, with an overarching goal of continually building the future workforce. We know that an educated and qualified workforce is critical for a strong and steady economy.”

The oil and gas industry faces a number of challenges in attracting and retaining employees. There are a variety of reasons for this, including the oilpatch’s reputation as dirty, dangerous and tough.

However, “a lot has changed over the last 30 years to make the industry safer,” Salkeld says, noting that the oil and gas industry is at the forefront of a wide range of advancements, in terms of both safety and technology. “To keep that momentum going, we’re supporting education for students. It goes a long way to continue keeping us on the leading edge of technology, and creating a better awareness of this industry. It’s leaving the past behind and moving forward as a modern, safe, long-term industry.”

According to recent findings by the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada, the oil and gas industry will need to hire as many as 130,000 workers between 2010 and 2020 to support new activity and replace retiring workers. ❯❯ continued on page 8

80 students and 40 teachers and the Summit partners.

You made Generate 2011 an incredible success!

www.insideeducation.ca www.energizealberta.com

8

April 2011 • Energize Alberta

Special Issue • Education, Training & Careers

Continued from page 7

Get smart That’s where the PSAC Education Fund is working to make a difference by promoting careers in the petroleum industry.

Established in 2001 to advance awareness of career opportunities in the petroleum industry and help develop the industry’s future workforce, the PSAC Education Fund provides financial assistance to students planning to pursue post-secondary education, and for the last several years, has also provided funding to schools in small communities to enhance their programs in math, science and technology. Since its inception the fund has awarded more than $140,000 in scholarships and grants.

“The demand for highly skilled labour is ongoing. At the same time, soaring tuition costs are placing post-secondary education beyond the reach of many Canadian students,” Salkeld says. “Our members feel it’s vital to ensure that our future leaders are able to take advantage of the current educational opportunities available to them, so they are prepared to meet the demands of increasingly complex jobs.”

PSAC’s annual Education Fund Golf Classic, the organization’s main scholarship fundraising activity, will take place July 21 at the Calgary Elks Lodge and Golf Club. It is open only to PSAC regular members, associate members and the tournament sponsors.

“We have fun doing it—the tournament is a blast,” says Education Fund committee chair Travis Strube, noting that all of the money raised from the tournament goes directly to scholarships.

Edmonton resident Reto Mueller was another recipient of the PSAC Regular Member scholarship last year. Mueller, 28, who works in the energy industry as a mechanical engineer, is doing a master’s degree in engineering management at the University of Alberta. He studies part-time by taking evening classes, and expects to finish in a year’s time.

“It’s a great support because when I started, I was taking one course at a time and working full-time,” Mueller says. “Now, because I got a scholarship it has allowed me a little more financial independence, and I started working only 90 per cent. It’s less pay but in return I can take two courses, so I can get my degree done faster. It has helped me not have to worry about finances as much, being able to get my education in a timely manner.”

Mueller, who is doing a master’s degree because he wanted to learn more about the business side of engineering, is encouraging others to apply for a PSAC scholarship as well.

“I recommended it to some of my coworkers…because it’s a really good support.”

Other scholarships can be very difficult to obtain, he notes, because there is usually a lot of competition. On top of that, scholarships for part-time students can be difficult to find, Mueller says. “There are not many out there. This is really a great opportunity, because it isn’t limited to full-time students.”

In 2011, the fund will award five scholarships of $1,000 each to employees of PSAC regular member companies or their children to pursue post-secondary education. In a change from previous years, it will not be giving grants to schools in small communities or providing scholarships to students not associated with PSAC member companies. However, PSAC will award a new $2,500 scholarship this year: the PSAC Roger Soucy Legacy Scholarship. Funded by KPMG, the scholarship was established last fall for children of regular member company employees.

PSAC’s Travis Strube presents scholarship winner Angela Misuraca with her $1,000 award

.

Photo: PSAC

It is aimed at young people who are active in their communities and are considering working in the petroleum services sector.

The PSAC Education Fund, which aims to promote careers in the petroleum services sector and help develop a longterm labour pool for the oil and gas industry’s upstream services sector, continues to evolve to meet the needs of students and industry.

Changes are now in the works for the 2011 program that will see more of a focus placed on establishing scholarships to support students who are in, or plan to enrol in, petroleum-related training programs at trade schools and colleges.

“While the fund has contributed some very positive educational support over the years through public scholarships and grants to schools, the Education Fund committee has decided to suspend the public scholarship and grants portions of the program and instead direct the funding to support students in petroleumrelated training programs,” Strube says.

“The committee feels this new focus will have a greater impact on both students and industry, while targeting potential employees at a time when they are making crucial career decisions.”

These changes to the PSAC Education Fund are in their final stages of planning. Full details will be announced at www.psac.ca/ community/education-fund.

Prepare for a Career with a Future!

Land Agent

Land and Water Resources Land Administration

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Education, Training & Careers • Special Issue

Enform safety course ‘saves lives’ Jim Bentein Energize Alberta

E

arle Clarke can remember when life working in the oil and gas business could be short.

That was decades ago, before the industry started taking safety very seriously and began preparing workers to deal with dangers

like hydrogen sulphide (H2S) emissions, ubiquitous in the sour gas sector and most other oil and gas reservoirs, as well as many other aspects of the business.

Clarke, 69, a former City of Calgary firefighter who has worked off and on in the oil and gas industry since the 1960s, teaches the H2S Alive course in Calgary for Enform,

the safety-training arm of the Canadian oil and gas industry.

“Depending on the concentrations, [H2S] can kill you instantly,” says Clarke, who owns Calgarybased safety consulting company Associated Safety & Training Services. He’s well aware of the dangers of the gas, having worked at safety-related jobs in the energy industry in the 1960s and then at the former Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor Energy) mine in Fort McMurray in the late 1970s, before returning to his Calgary firefighting job.

“I get real satisfaction out of teaching the course, because I know it saves lives.”

Hydrogen sulphide kills at less than 1,000 parts per million, but Clarke cites statistics from 1995 to 2005 that show there were only eight deaths related to exposure to “toxic vapours” like H2S in that period in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, the oil and gas producing area of Western Canada.

“That’s way down from the past,” he notes.

The public pressure to do something about H2S came 29 years ago, after a gas well operated by Amoco Canada in west-central Alberta near Lodgepole blew out of control, spewing the deadly gas for many kilometres around and killing two people. It was the second

major sour gas blowout in the area in five years and it took 67 days to bring it under control.

Among the consequences of the incident were a public inquiry and a system for monitoring and training oilfield workers.

Since retiring from the Calgary fire department in 1995, Clarke has worked full-time at his consulting firm. Prior to that, he had been working part-time.

In that time, Clarke, who also teaches courses for corporate clients, says he has instructed thousands of students—and probably helped save many lives.

“I really enjoy being able to do the teaching,” he says. “I feel like I’m contributing something, especially to new people coming into industry.”

Jeff Safioles, manager of safety and training for Enform, says the H2S Alive course is the organization’s most popular.

“We certify over 100,000 [people] per year worldwide,” he says. Those who complete the course receive certification for three years.

“Many people in the oil and gas industry take it several times during their careers,” Safioles explains.

The course is available at Enform’s campuses throughout the western provinces, and the company also works to provide it to clients around the globe as well.

“Student materials are provided in

9

French and Spanish, and we have instructors offering it throughout the world,” Safioles says.

The one-day course teaches students about the physical properties and health issues of H2S, how to protect oneself and basic rescue techniques.

By the end, each student will be able to operate a self-contained breathing apparatus and a detector tube device, and also be able to perform CPR and rescue lift-anddrag exercises.

Photos: Enform

The ABCs of H2S

Energize Alberta • April 2011

Students attending Enform’s H2S Alive course learn to operate a self-contained breathing apparatus.

…to all of us. We take pride in our reputation and for being good neighbours in your community because our families live here too.

Stronger communities are built by the strength of their members and by our ability to communicate with one another.

That’s why we established our “Community Matters” program which encourages people to come together to exchange ideas and information about the things we all care about—the safety and well being of our friends and family, stewardship of the land, and having respect for our neighbours.

If you have questions or concerns about operations in your community, or would like more information about Penn West, we invite you to contact us at 1-877-454-8844. To learn more about us, please visit our website at www.pennwest.com.

www.pennwest.com

www.energizealberta.com

Some call it hands-on, others say experiential.

We call it

. Employers call it “When can you start?”

It’s un-Canadian of us but we’ll admit it. We’re very good at providing students with real-life-in-the-field-trying-out-the-job learning experiences so when they’re hired, they’re ready to get to work. We also apply that same belief to many of our short-term, advance-your-credential courses.

Trades and Technology

Trades and Technology Strong program You’ll find grads of Lakeland’s heavy oil operations technician program working throughout western Canada. One of the most popular programs at Lakeland, 96 per cent of last year’s graduates said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the program.

Big plans Lakeland wants to make the program even better by expanding it from a one-year certificate to a two-year diploma program. Lakeland intends to add Third Class Power Engineering along with upstream and midstream oil and gas training so grads have the skills to operate a process plant.

Our programs Gas process operator, heavy oil operations technician, pressure truck operator, and vacuum truck operator.

Pre-employment: automotive service and heavy equipment technician, carpenter, electrician, steamfitter-pipefitter and welder.

Apprenticeship: automotive service technician, carpenter, electrician, heavy equipment technician, instrumentation, parts technician, steamfitter-pipefitter and welder.

Fire and Emergency Services Training field extraordinaire With multiple storey structural towers, a dangerous goods training area and props that simulate industrial fires, vehicle extrications and other emergency scenarios, your Lakeland training will make sure you’re never caught off-guard.

In the spotlight New to the Emergency Training Centre is a $2.5 million water treatment and reuse facility. Associated Engineering Alberta Ltd., the company that designed the innovative facility, received the Award of Excellence – Environmental during the Consulting Engineers of Alberta Showcase Awards earlier this year.

Our programs Industrial firefighting, emergency services technology, firefighter training, emergency medical technician, paramedic, emergency medical responder, bachelor of applied business: emergency services.

Environmental Sciences That’s a big lab Oil leases, reclaimed land, native grassland and wetlands on 10 quarters of land owned by Lakeland provides Environmental Sciences students ample opportunities for lab work and applied research projects.

Energizing experience Live the learning opportunities are such a part of what we do that we’ve even incorporated an online Energy Cabin into our renewable energy and conservation program. The Energy Cabin includes solar hot water collectors, solar hot air, solar photovoltaic panels with a sun tracking system, thermal heat storage and a wind turbine. Cabin operational information is available online with graphs and data updated every 15 minutes.

More applied research is on the way thanks to a $2.3 million research grant from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Our programs Bachelor of applied science: environmental management, renewable energy and conservation (online), and environmental sciences diploma with majors in conservation and restoration ecology, environmental conservation and reclamation, environmental monitoring and protection and wildlife and fisheries conservation.

Vermilion • Lloydminster

1 800 661 6490 www.lakelandcollege.ca

Education, Training & Careers • Special Issue

Energize Alberta • April 2011

© 2011 Photos.com

Green growth Plenty of career opportunities in environmental fields Jim Bentein Energize Alberta

Environmental professionals, like these technicians monitoring water quality, will be in increasing demand in the coming decade.

oing green is a growth industry—and the job openings in the sector throughout Alberta and Canada reflect that.

“It is one of the fastest growing areas for new job creation in Canada,” explains Joel Pagnucco, senior manager of employer services for Calgary-based ECO Canada, which was established in 1992 to make Canadians aware of the potential in the environmental sector and help recruit workers for the industry.

“I’d recommend young people looking at training for jobs in the area look at the work we’ve done, so they understand what sub-sectors are growing the most.”

For instance, he says it might not be a good idea to aim at a job in “sustainable forestry,” since the forestry industry in Canada is in decline.

Conversely, the oil and gas industry is a growth area, as evidenced by the growing demand for environmental advisors and other green jobs in the oilpatch.

“Given the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and ducks in the oilsands [a reference to the incident where hundreds of ducks were trapped and died in a Syncrude Canada tailings ponds near Fort McMurray], you’ll see more job openings in that industry,” Pagnucco says.

Oil and gas companies are searching for people “who can develop their environmental strategies,” he adds.

To date, about 750 environmental professionals have received the designation and another 750 or so are in the process of getting it. “You need at least five years of experience in the field and peer recognition to receive the certificate,” Pagnucco notes.

In addition, in tandem with Victoria’s Royal Roads University, ECO has created the Canadian Centre for Environmental Education, which offers an environmental certification program that takes the best online environmental university and college courses and combines them into one certificate. There are more than 25 institutions participating.

It also offers Canada’s first certification program for greenhouse gas professionals, which is being administered by ECO.

Wide-ranging needs But the oil and gas industry isn’t the only area where people with environmental training are needed— they are required in virtually all of Canada’s industry segments, from manufacturing to mining to the powergeneration sector.

“There’s a particular shortage of intermediate and senior environmental managers—people with the education and experience to assume leadership roles.”

ECO (Environmental Careers Organization) Canada is one of 30 sector councils established by the federal government to help deal with worker shortages in industries ranging from trucking to health care to energy.

The Calgary-based Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada (PHRCC), which is supported by 11 oil and gas national and regional organizations and the federal government, and which focuses on the oil and gas sector, is also one of the 30 councils.

ECO Canada works with the PHRCC and other organizations in helping to identify the needs of various industries for environmental professionals.

In addition, ECO works with secondary and postsecondary school systems throughout Canada to make them aware of the opportunities in the field, oversees scholarship programs for students taking green-industry training, works with education providers in the environmental field, maintains an awards program for companies involved in the sector, produces regular studies about the area and maintains a job board.

For the last decade, ECO has offered a certification program for professionals in the field. Once known as the Certified Environmental Practitioner designation, it’s now called the Environmental Professional certification, the only one of its kind in Canada that provides professionals with formal recognition of their competency.

Postings aplenty While not all environment-related jobs in Canada are posted on ECO’s website (www.eco.ca), many are. Most recently, there were about 70 postings, with 27 of them specifically in Alberta. Those included positions with consulting and engineering firms, the cities of Calgary and

Spruce Grove, one with oil and gas producer Penn West Exploration and another with Newalta, which specializes in oilfield environmental services.

A recent study conducted by ECO illustrates just how huge the environmental sector is.

The study, Profile of Canadian Environmental Employment, was the first attempt in Canada to measure how many jobs there are overall in the sector, with data being gathered from more than 2,200 employers. The results were surprising, even to Pagnucco and the other more than 40 employees at ECO. It showed that four per cent of the Canadian labour force, or over 682,000 employees, are spending at least 50 per cent of their time on environmental work. Two million Canadian workers overall are required to do at least some environmental activities as part of their jobs.

But the growth in environmental-related jobs, as with the growth in jobs overall in Canada, is most notable in the Wild Rose province.

“About 38 per cent of the jobs posted on our website are from Alberta,” says Pagnucco. “That may be partially because our head office is in Calgary, but it probably also reflects the growth in the oil and gas industry.”

In another recent study that looked at trends in the sector, ECO divided jobs in the sector into two broad categories: environmental protection and resource management.

The first section includes such sub-sectors as waste management (including hazardous wastes), air quality and climate change management, and water protection, treatment, supply and conservation.

Protection of biodiversity and landscape, noise abatement and remediation were also in this category.

The second category includes natural resource management, alternative fuels, and heat and energy saving and management. It also includes other professions like teaching and accounting, where some workers increasingly deal with the environment.

The ECO study predicts that the greatest growth in the overall sector will occur in climate change mitigation, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and alternativefuel vehicles.

ENVIRONMENTAL EMPLOYEES BY OCCUPATIONAL AREAS 800,000

Total Environmental Employees 682,289 100%

Number of Employees

G

11

271,671 40% 188,377 28%

Environmental safety & health

137,940 131,085 20% 19%

Site assessment & reclamation Waste management

120,623 18%

114,333 17%

Environmental education & training Environmental communication & public awareness

103,249 15% 71,287 10%

Policy & legislation Water quality

66,628 10%

49,582 7%

Air quality

Alternative/ renewable energy, eco-efficiency

600,000

400,000

200,000

48,684 7%

41,831 6%

Research & development Natural resource management

36,676 5%

100,000

Carbon & climate change mitigation Eco-preservation/ wildlife & fisheries management

Environmental Occupations Note: Because most employers surveyed indicated their employees perform activities in more than one occupational category, the total for all occupations is greater than 100 per cent..

Source: ECO Canada

www.energizealberta.com

12

April 2011 • Energize Alberta

Special Issue • Education, Training & Careers

Rig pigs no more Through various educational initiatives, drilling rig occupations undergo an image makeover

T

he days when workers in the oil and gas drilling and service rig sectors were called “rig pigs” have long faded—and training and safety service programs offered by Calgary-based Enform, along with a new apprenticeship program for rig workers, have played a large role in that image change.

For the past 50 years, Enform and its legacy organizations, the Petroleum Industry Training Service and the Canadian Petroleum Safety Council, have provided safety training, such as the H2S Alive program that teaches oilfield workers about the dangers of hydrogen sulphide, as well as other courses aimed at improving worker safety or upgrading the knowledge base of workers.

The result is that worker safety in the oil and gas sector has steadily improved.

“Our courses are an important part of helping rig managers and other supervisors keep their skill levels high,” says Doug Gibson, Enform’s Nisku-based program manager for well control.

Enform, the training and safety organization for the upstream oil and gas sector in Canada, offers more than 80 courses from various locations, including some outside of Canada.

Established by the industry, it collaborates with six industry trade associations, including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) and the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC).

While many of the courses can be offered in classroom or office settings, hands-on training is made available at Enform’s Nisku campus in Alberta, where it has two fully functioning drilling rigs and a service rig on site.

The training organization also sponsors conferences, such as the annual Petroleum Safety Conference being held in Banff from

May 2-6, where there will be a number of keynote presentations, as well as smaller breakout sessions. One of this year’s keynote speakers will be Aubrey Daniels, an authority in the field of performance management.

Up to standard Enform delivers training that meets the standards established by CAPP, CAODC, PSAC and other participating trade organizations, as well as many regulatory agencies in Canada and elsewhere.

Training programs consist of long- and short-term courses in safety, environment, technology and career development, plus customized and international courses.

Photo: Enform

Jim Bentein Energize Alberta

and its predecessors for more than two decades. “Before that I had 15 years of working experience on drilling rigs,” he says.

Gibson oversees such “flagship” courses as first-line supervisor’s blowout prevention and second-line supervisor’s well control.

The four-day first-line course, which has been offered since the 1980s, is aimed at drilling crew supervisors, and includes instruction in how to recognize a potential blowout and take steps to prevent it.

“The first-line course is mandatory in Alberta,” Gibson notes. Other energyproducing provinces are also starting to make it required training.

It is offered in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and other centres, but on-site training is required in Nisku on the fourth day, where the rigs at the Enform campus are used as a key part of the training.

On average, 1,500 to 2,000 students a year take the course.

The second-line course, which takes five days, one of those being spent working on the Nisku rigs, is compulsory for

Various training and safety programs help keep rig workers’ skills sharp.

Safety training includes H2S Alive, oilfield driver training, safety management and other courses.

Environmental programs include general environmental and waste management courses, in addition to emergency response training.

Enform’s technology department helps enhance the skills of operators and technicians in the industry and its career development programs offer training to everyone from those just entering the industry to seasoned veterans.

Gibson himself is a veteran with the organization, having been with Enform

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all senior rig personnel, who must take it every two years.

“If a well goes out of control it can be catastrophic, so it’s required that they maintain their skill levels,” Gibson says.

It’s also possible for professionals in the field to take the second-line course in three days, provided they achieve a mark of 85 per cent on a written test.

The first-line course costs $650 and the second line one, which usually attracts fewer than 1,000 students a year, $1,290.

Enform also oversees the delivery of the international well control training course in Western Canada. That

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Highly skilled job Oddly enough, despite its expertise, Enform is not involved in Alberta in delivering a groundbreaking Canadian effort to professionalize jobs in the drilling sector.

This effort includes the first apprenticeship program for derrickhands, drillers and motorhands.

The rig technician apprenticeship, which was launched in 2005, is offered by Enform in British Columbia at Okanagan College in Kelowna.

However, because all apprenticeship programs in Alberta must be offered at publicly funded institutions, Enform cannot provide the program.

Instead, SAIT Polytechnic, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and other trades institutions offer it.

The training is compulsory in Alberta, but not yet in other parts of the country.

Don Herring, the president of CAODC, says the three-year program places rig workers on the same level as electricians, plumbers and other skilled trades.

“Recognizing the rig hand as a tradesperson identifies what every rig hand knows: operating a drilling rig is a highly skilled job,” he says. “With trade designation, they will receive standardized, high-quality training and the recognition they deserve.”

As of last year, over 4,000 journeypersons across Western Canada had graduated from the program, according to CAODC, with another 3,600 still in the apprenticeship program.

Those working on drilling rigs need the training if they are motorhands, derrickhands or drillers—the senior positions on the rigs. Service rig personnel don’t need the designation.

“Out of the 25 people working on an average rig, about half would need the apprenticeship,” Herring says.

According to CAODC, about 6,000 senior rig workers have been “grandfathered,” having received apprenticeships because of their extensive experience in the field.

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course, offered by a Scottish organization, is aimed at drillers, rig managers, wellsite supervisors, drilling engineers and supervisors, and other shore-based senior personnel. The offshore component is offered in Canada by a Newfoundlandbased institution.

About 100 people a year take the course in Western Canada, says Gibson. It costs $2,495 to enrol in it.

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Education, Training & Careers • Special Issue

Energize Alberta • April 2011

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An avalanche of opportunity Photo: Lakeland College

The oil and gas sector’s looming skills crunch is being met by technical institutes and colleges

Lakeland College students learn the ropes during a recent session of the heavy oil operations technicians program.

Skills squeeze Western technology institutes and colleges are responding

The TTC initiative was launched in part thanks to an earlier $10-million gift from fellow SAIT alumnus Keith MacPhail, chairman and chief executive officer of Bonavista Energy.

Building Three of the TTC will house a “live laboratory” where aspiring power engineers, instrumentation mechanics, process operators and other students will acquire skills in replica industrial facilities rather than classrooms.

consider applying to the heavy oil operations technician (HOOT) program at Lakeland College in Lloydminster.

The thriving heavy oil and in situ bitumen sector in Alberta and Saskatchewan is expected to generate demand for many hundreds of operators in the near future. Bert Samuelson, Lakeland’s dean of the trades and technology school, says a survey of last spring’s graduates indicates 96 per cent satisfaction with HOOT. Samuelson says the HOOT lab needs upgrading and possibly an addition. In particular, the dean dreams of adding a second year of study, which would train students as third-class power engineers (HOOT now prepares its grads to challenge the fourthclass exam), SAGD operations, firefighting, more intense training in information technology and more. “We’d configure the program for flexibility,” he says.

For example, an operator could graduate from the first year, work for a while in industry if he chooses, and then return to school later for the second year.

Other western schools that offer petroleum-specific training (excluding engineering and other disciplines at major universities) are NAIT in Edmonton,

PETROLEUM INDUSTRY NET HIRING REQUIREMENTS — GROWTH OIL/LOW GAS SCENARIO ($90-$115 PER BARREL OF CRUDE AND CURRENT GAS PRICES) 8,000

4,349

6,000 4,000

3,848

3,924

4,067

4,104

4,116

4,177

4,450

4,551

4,260

4,633

2,000 0

-232

-2,000 -4,000

-1,393

-1,379

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2012

For example, SAIT will duplicate a steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) installation.

“We depend on our graduates and other industry specialists to keep our programs and equipment focused on the current needs of the oil and gas sector,” says Mary MacDonald, dean of the MacPhail School of Energy at SAIT Polytechnic.

MacDonald places the highest priority on maintaining tight linkages with industry. Her energy school has 10 industry advisory committees that meet at least once annually. The

980

1,747

Due to industry activity

-2,637 2010

366

2013

2014

2015

2016

through competing in the global market. For instance, we’ve got 92 Angolans here right now training for jobs in their own country.

Beyond the immediate revenue for SAIT, international initiatives create another valuable benefit: our graduates become familiar with Canadian energy technology and they represent future potential customers for our suppliers as their careers progress.”

Have a HOOT Anyone who’s looking for a wellpaid, virtually guaranteed job after one year of study might

2,855

3,123

2,090

1,530

Due to age-related attrition 2017

2018

2019

Graph: PHRCC

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The oil and gas exploration, production and pipeline sectors will lose at least 30 per cent of their combined core workforce within 10 years due to retirement, according to a report released in December by the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada (PHRCC).

The government-industry agency conducted four short-term labour market surveys over 20092010. Chronic shortages of crucial skills—power engineers and plant operators, fracturing crews and other field specialists, production accountants and more—dogged the patch even during a period of mass upstream layoffs.

“Between 2007 and 2009, the services sector lost approximately 13,000 seismic, drilling, oilfield construction and maintenance, and well servicing workers,” the PHRCC report states. In fact, even more energy service workers were likely laid off between 2007 and early 2009, the council says, but some were recalled during the latter part of 2009 when activity began picking up. As that recovery continues, the report notes, “material and skills shortages are expected to re-emerge in the short term [2012] and the industry will once again be challenged to keep costs under control, while competing for talent.”

aggressively to the looming oilfield skills squeeze. In Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic is midway through construction of its Trades and Technology Complex (TTC). Upon completion in 2012, the Calgary facility will provide 740,000 square feet of new space on campus, designed for training specialists in energy, construction, and manufacturing and automation. The TTC will deliver 3,600 more student spaces, allowing as many as 8,100 more students every year.

An impressive chunk of the Calgary project’s funding is coming from SAIT graduates and former tradespeople. For instance, the largest of the three TTC buildings will be named the Aldred Centre in recognition of a $15-million contribution from John and Cheryl Aldred. An immigrant from Britain who arrived in 1967, John Aldred first worked as a heavy-duty mechanic in the oilpatch. Going into business for himself, he transformed Enerflex Systems from a one-man startup into a 3,000-employee global manufacturer of natural gas compression and processing equipment. In 2010, Toromont Industries acquired Enerflex for $670 million.

The west wing of the TTC will be named the Johnson-Cobbe Energy Centre, honouring a pair of $5-million gifts from two SAIT graduates. Murray Cobbe and David Johnson both earned petroleum technology diplomas in the 1970s. Today, Cobbe is the executive chairman of Trican Well Service while Johnson holds the same position at Progress Energy Resources.

Number of Positions

Mike Byfield Energize Alberta

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology operates a similar industry-academic advisory system. To help coordinate technology training on a provincewide basis, NAIT and SAIT academic department chairs attend each other’s advisory committee meetings.

Besides her committee work, the MacPhail dean says, “I also meet one-on-one with four industry leaders each month.”

Her staffers develop a great deal of energy-related curriculum material for their students. “No one publishes a standard textbook that includes instructions for operating an H2S [hydrogen sulphide] gas plant at 40 below,” MacDonald comments. SAIT’s academic strength continues to deepen, with full bachelor’s degrees now available in applied petroleum technology. “Quite a few students fail to graduate because they’re offered jobs before they’ve completed the program,” the energy dean notes with a touch of frustration.

SAIT provides custom-tailored technical training programs for companies and governments around the world. “The [Alberta] government only funds half of our overall budget,” MacDonald explains. “We’ve been able to generate significant additional revenue

2020

Fort McMurray’s Keyano College, Red Deer and Medicine Hat colleges (primarily through the rig technician apprenticeship program) and Saskatchewan Southeast Regional College.

SAIT’s MacDonald predicts that all available training capacity will be stretched by the oilpatch’s need for skills. “Institutes and colleges themselves will soon be challenged in recruiting instructors for energy-related courses, the situation is that intense,” the MacPhail dean comments.

“We’re facing an avalanche of opportunity.”

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April 2011 • Energize Alberta

Special Issue • Education, Training & Careers

Forecast calls for wind Lethbridge College offers hands-on green energy program

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BZEE certification The college also offers the muchtouted BZEE certification.

BZEE, or “Bildungszentrum fur Erneuerbare Energien,” was founded as an association in 2000 by the German Wind Energy Association, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Flensburg (a town in northern Germany), and wind energy enterprises in northern Germany.

Today, BZEE’s membership is spread throughout Germany and represents key players in the wind energy sector, and its

Photo: Lethbridge College

s students attending the one-year wind turbine technician’s program at Lethbridge College, both Jared McAdam and Logan Toynbee have a hope in their hearts and a prayer on their lips.

“I would not mind getting a job in Europe,” McAdam says. “I have travelled there as a backpacker and now I want to go back with an employment.”

The scenario is probably a bit different for Toynbee.

“I am willing to work anywhere, as long as I get the experience I am looking for. I have already applied for a position in British Columbia,” he points out.

authorized to impart such international training—the program has today gathered sufficient critical mass and high credibility with the subjects being taught, including electrical, mechanical and safety elements, such as high-angle/high-height rescue, for example.

For McAdam and Toynbee— both of who have currently completed over three-quarters of their program—their expectations are for all the right reasons and, in their minds, there’s little doubt that the educational path they travel will lead to future career success.

After all, they are among nearly 50 students that attend a wind turbine technician’s course that is fast gaining roots in Alberta. The program has been designed to the highest standards and is in line with the college’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Starting off six years ago— making Lethbridge College the first institution in North America

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mission is to develop practiceoriented training programs tailored to meet qualification demands of the industry. BZEE certificates enjoy widespread recognition in the wind energy sector.

The emphasis is not just on academics alone, but also field projects, with the pupils being taught literally hands-on methods to assemble several wind industry gadgets, including even a turbine.

“They have options of either taking an electrical entrepreneurship or a wind turbine technician’s course,” explains program instructor Ron Rapp.

“The students are excited and feel challenged, as they have to learn varying disciplines

and safety courses.” But it’s not just the students who are excited about the program—the instructors, coordinators and directors at the college share their enthusiasm.

Back to the books A case in point is Rapp, who came back to the college some 18 months ago after serving successfully in various positions in the industry.

“I have a strong electrical and mechanical background and had worked in various capacities on a wind farm in southern Alberta. However, with the wind technician’s program becoming popular and there being a need for full-time instructors, I decided to return to college,” he says.

Rapp’s decision has paid high dividends, as both McAdam and Toynbee are content with the course. In fact, they’re raring to go.

“There is lots to do and we remain very busy,” McAdam says, adding that the course interests him because of the variety it offers. “However, as it was a new program, there were some initial hiccups. But that has been fixed since.”

Describing the course as “overkill,” Toynbee notes: “The information and content is probably double than what we need, but nonetheless it will help us move up the ladder soon after we [graduate]. The fee we pay of about $7,800 for the program is certainly worth it.”

Rapp is sanguine that his pupils will get a job sooner than later and start off their “green careers.”

“As a rule of thumb, our past experience has indicated most of them get employment soon enough. The last two classes were hired by the construction industry. One employer called the students plug and play for the ability to do several jobs in the construction industry,” he says.

Promising future Finding employment is not really a major worry for either McAdam or Toynbee. Both are aware that Wind turbine tower for training purposes on the Lethbridge College campus.

Photo: Lethbridge College

Ashok Dutta Energize Alberta

wind energy is set to grow by orders of magnitude not just in Alberta or Canada, but also globally—and eventually more jobs will be created.

“With oil prices remaining at over $85 per barrel and the provincial economy once again on the upswing, there will be lots of incentives for renewable forms of energy and this will in turn create jobs. It may not happen immediately, but [the jobs] will trickle down and we will see several new openings over the coming few years,” says Toynbee.

Despite the program’s early success, directors and coordinators at Lethbridge College are not willing to rest on their laurels.

“We are always adding new elements to our existing wind technician’s program,” Rapp says.

“And now we are thinking of adding management components which will allow the students to become managers.”

The college is also developing a small wind and solar program, he notes.

The outcome of these changes is eagerly awaited, but in the meanwhile McAdam is hopeful that the provincial government will do more to support the development of alternate sources of energy, particularly wind and solar.

“We need it not just in Alberta, but also Canada. As a nation, we are still behind Europe,” he says.

His views are shared by Rapp, who points out that wind penetration in Alberta’s energy mix is four to five per cent at present, which could potentially increase to 20 per cent over the short term.

Stressing the benefits of removing pressure points in the province’s power transmission infrastructure, Rapp cites the example of a new line between being laid between Pincher Creek and Lethbridge that immediately led to construction work being started on several wind farms.

With the multi-billion dollar oilsands industry in northern Alberta once again witnessing mega investments and an increasing number of people moving to the province in search of jobs, demand for power is set to grow exponentially.

Wind and solar has the potential to contribute in a significant way to the new energy mix, the students say. And few will deny that the program at Lethbridge College is doing its best to create the technicians the province will need.

Education, Training & Careers • Special Issue

A return to the books led Mark Blundell and Chad Seigel down a different—and greener—career path Jim Bentein Energize Alberta

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ark Blundell considers himself a very lucky man because of the environmental work he does.

“I have the most interesting job in the world,” says Blundell, who is senior environmental advisor for Calgary-based pipeline giant TransCanada. “There are issues every day. This is a dynamic company. We have $20 billion in growth [capital investments] going forward.”

Blundell, 53, who has been with NOVA Gas Transmission and parent TransCanada for about 25 years,

Photo source: Photos.com

Changing course

Energize Alberta • April 2011 is originally from northern England and began his career as a geologist, after having received a geology degree from the University of Liverpool.

After working in the North Sea, he first came to Canada in 1983 when he and his wife decided to immigrate to this country. “We decided Calgary was a good place to bring up children,” he says.

But in the late 1980s, tiring of the boom-bust nature of the oil and gas industry (then going through a bust), he returned to school, completing an environmental control and safety diploma course at SAIT Polytechnic.

After graduation, he joined engineering consulting firm CH2M Hill, which was followed by his stint with NOVA Gas. “I was involved in site assessment, cleaning up contaminated sites, decommissioning and reclamation,” he explains.

During his career with TransCanada, Blundell has tackled health, safety and environmental management issues while dealing with potentially hazardous materials such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), naturally occurring radioactive materials and other contaminants.

In his current job, which places him at the management level, Blundell says he’s enjoying “the best of both worlds.”

“I have the luxury of managing technical issues, but no staff,” he says. “I don’t need to tell people their bonus won’t be coming.”

Blundell also plays a critical role when the company is considering whether or not to buy additional business assets, helping to guide decisions that involve billions of dollars. “I do an environmental, safety and health audit of assets the company is planning to purchase,” he says.

In addition, once those assets are purchased—they can be anything from a power plant in the United States to a pipeline system—he helps integrate them into the company’s operations.

Blundell also tries to mentor younger staffers as much as possible. “I’m very much in demand by junior staff,” he says. “I mentor all the time.”

Blundell, who has three children, says he would encourage all young people to consider a career in an

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environmental field. “There’s definitely going to be a need,” he notes. “Aside from winning the lottery, I can’t think of a better career path.”

That’s also how Chad Seigel feels.

Seigel, an environmental, health and safety specialist with Suncor Energy, thinks it’s one of the best career paths anyone could take.

“Almost all industries need environmentalists,” says the 39-year-old Seigel, who also has his Environmental Professional designation. “You’ll never run out of work in the environmental area because there’s such a broad range of opportunities.”

Seigel has been with involved in the oil and gas industry for four years, having started with Petro-Canada, now owned by Suncor.

He began his career working in the forestry sector in resource management, but switched sectors after he saw the deteriorating state of the forestry sector in British Columbia (and the rest of Canada), taking a degree in environmental studies from the University of Waterloo in 2001.

“I was able to do a lot of the work towards the degree online,” he says.

He started working in the oil and gas sector by taking a job with the BC Oil and Gas Commission, where he stayed for two years before moving on to the PetroCanada position.

Now his job focuses on Suncor’s Firebag oilsands site near Fort McMurray, where his work schedule sees him spend four days a week on the site and then three days at home with his family in Calgary.

“Every week is challenging. I’m the team lead, with eight people working for me. It’s exciting,” he says.

Although he enjoyed working in the forestry sector, Seigel advises people looking at entering the environmental sector to consider the oil and gas industry. “It’s a lot busier [than the forestry sector], so there’s more opportunity,” he says.

“There are air, water and soil reclamation issues that need to be addressed.”

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Devon is a strong supporter of educational programs and projects throughout the areas in which we operate. Partnerships include Inside Education, the SEEDS Foundation, Green Learning, Telus World of Science, Quest Theatre and Ducks Unlimited.

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