Go big in the workforce, or go home
There are many ways to make a good living, says Neil Friesen, 34. The trick is to find something that you enjoy and make money while you’re doing it.
After spending 15 years in housing construction in Edmonton, Friesen began to think it was time to move on to another line of work. Mechanics was one of his interests, and he looked at a number of options in that area, including careers as a millwright and an auto mechanic, he says.
But ultimately he decided to go big. Friesen is now in his final year of training as a heavy equipment technician, which will qualify him to work on off-road mining, construction, forestry and farm equipment and on-road tractor-trailers.
He spent four months in 2013 with Syncrude in Fort McMurray, Alta., helping to maintain, diagnose and repair the giant hydraulic and electric rope shovels (excavators) used in the oilsands. Machines on the site need constant maintenance because the sand quickly wears away steel, Friesen says. “The mechanic has an important role to play in the safety of operators and the equipment they’re using.”
While there are considerable physical demands in the type of work he does, he says mental acuity is the key to long-term success. “The technology is always changing, so you need to be able to learn and adapt to new things.”
Friesen expects to return to the oilpatch after he graduates, with the likelihood of securing longterm work there continues to be good.
Available jobs in the oilpatch for workers like Friesen outnumber qualified candidates, says Carla Campbell-Ott, executive director of the Petroleum Human Resources Council.
In 2012, there were 2,026 heavyduty equipment mechanics directly employed in oil and gas, she says. Depending on the level of industry growth, that number is expected to grow 395 to 854 jobs by 2020.
Factors influencing the ability to fill these positions include competition from other industries, retiring baby boomers, population shrinkage and a perception of the sector that can make it difficult to attract young people, says Campbell-Ott. “But we need these workers. We can’t do our work in the oil and gas sector without them.”
The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) trains around 1,000 heavy equipment mechanics each year, says Colin Ruthven, chair of heavy equipment programs.
Students spend half of their time on theory and the other half working hands-on in the school’s labs and shop. They learn to analyze, maintain and repair heavyduty engines and associated support systems such as hydraulics and pneumatics and suspension and brake systems.
“We pretty much have a 100-percent employment rate and it’s safe to say that 70 per cent go to the oilsands in Fort McMurray,” Ruthven says.
However, local construction companies, equipment dealerships, mining and forestry and municipalities are also competing for the same qualified tradespeople who can maintain snow removal equipment, graders, loaders and mining and logging equipment, he says. “I’m constantly getting calls from industry looking for more graduates — they simply can’t get enough.”
To attract young people to the oil and gas sector, some employers are developing compensation strategies that go beyond the paycheque, says Campbell-Ott. They include flexible work schedules, transportation allowances, tuition scholarships or reimbursements and packages to encourage seasonal workers to return year after year.