Why the Oilsands sector is doing just fine, thank you
Former Dome Petroleum executive Gordon Kelly went into this media-ized heart of darkness and came away with a personal perspective on why the outlook for the industry appears very encouraging
Guy Mallabone, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology’s vice-president of external relations, likewise applauds the Alberta government’s recognition of the problems but points out there is a long way to go before the province’s post-secondary colleges and technical schools can really start to make a difference.
“It’s an excellent first step – just to acknowledge a problem exists,” said Mallabone. “At the same time, we saw the trend early on and in Calgary alone we’ve projected the need for 19,700 new seats (for students) by 2010. So far (the Alberta government) has funded 1,200. So it’s frustrating.”
Mallabone added, however, that recent private donations will help the drive toward construction of a new trades and technology building aimed at addressing the institute’s two-fold problem of not having enough capacity within
energy- and construction-related programs to take on student demand or having the physical space to teach them, even with sufficient faculty. Last year SAIT turned away almost 4,200 qualified students – many of them from the energy-related programs.
“You know, it’s not brain surgery and I applaud the government for recognizing the problem, but now we need the specifics of a long-term policy and a plan for sustainable funding in this area,” he said.
Still, Anderson is encouraged.
“I didn’t think we’d get through 2001 and it’s amazing how we were able to find our way through,” he said. “But I’m also amazed at how everyone – SAIT, NAIT, the universities – has rolled up their sleeves together on this one. We have a talented labour pool but it’s not deep enough so we need to be creative. But ultimately I think this will be a good thing for Canada.”
Steve Moores, Operations Manager in Dean’s Office in School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Technology at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, says NAIT is doing everything it can to be a step in the right direction – including the opening in late August of the Waiward Centre for Steel Technology as part of a suite of developments comprising an overall $750 million expansion plan for the institute over the coming decades.
“NAIT alone trains 50 per cent of Alberta’s apprentices and 20 per cent of apprentices across Canada,” said Moores. “We’re doing everything we can to address the skill shortage, both in terms of working with bricks and mortar to working with companies to see how we can help – not only with traditional delivery but alternate delivery such as distance learning and on-site programming and videoconferencing.”
NAIT this year will train more than 13,000 students in 35 trades, of which 15 are energy-related – including the Rig Technician Apprenticeship program developed in consultation with the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (see story this issue). Overall, expansions at NAIT will increase training capacities across programs from 40 to 60 per cent. For example, the opening of the Waiward Centre for Steel Technologies will address one of the highest-demand areas by increasing the training capacity in boilermaker, ironworker and structural steel and platefitting programs to 2,100 apprentices per year – up from 1,300.
“We will now be able to accommodate 1,800 apprentices in welding alone and that is already over-subscribed,” said Moores. “It is a step in the right direction but we will still have to turn away qualified students. We’re running at an all-time high for apprenticeship enrolments.”
Clearly, Anderson still prefers the glass-half-full approach.
“You know, in 1918 we had a labour shortage in the west because we had a bumper crop but the men were still at war. So the federal government created a program to bring passenger trains west for a cent a mile. That’s the kind of innovation I’m talking about.”
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