Alberta Needs 100,000+ New Oil Workers

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Jobs Abroad

Canada’s oil and gas industry is headed towards severe and chronic labour shortages – regardless of future energy prices and industry activity.

According to the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada, Alberta is now in a serious labour crunch. In the last ten years, the province has moved from an era of more workers than work, to an era of more work than workers. This will continue to be the case for at least the next decade. We need 105,000 new recruits this decade.

“There’s no way around it, Canada’s petroleum industry will struggle to find the workers it needs over the next 10 years,” says Cheryl Knight, Executive Director and CEO of the Council. “Not only will we need to replace thousands of our most skilled and experienced workers but prepare for future growth as well.”

Currently Alberta has 65,000 temporary foreign workers. As a result of ongoing shortages of skilled workers, the province has recently taken steps to enable these workers to become Canadian permanent residents more easily than in the past.

“We need skilled workers living in Alberta permanently,” said Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister of Employment and Immigration. “We have to make sure we are ready for the coming labour shortages as economies around the world are competing for the same skills and the same people.”

The oil industry isn’t the only industry worried about filling positions. Gene Syvenky, CEO of Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association, believes his sector will be short tens of thousands of skilled workers in the next few years.

According to a report in the Calgary Herald (no longer available online) a survey carried out by the PHRC shows immediate skills requirements include:

• Experienced engineers in the fields of exploitation, completions, production and mining
• Plant operators, steam engineers and power engineers
• Maintenance trades
• Production accountants
• Field operators
• Rig crews
• Environmental and regulatory specialists

Intensified work in unconventional gas and oil and in situ oil recovery are also creating demands for:

• Software developers
• Surface and subsurface engineers
• Steam engineers
• Geologists and engineers with shale reservoir and well stimulation experience
• Measurement-while-drilling specialists
• Formation fracturing specialists
• Completions specialists
• Class 1 drivers
• Water and environmental management technicians
• Logistics specialists

Be Sociable, Share!

•