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Rig Tech Trade

Canada is the first country in the world to introduce formalized apprenticeship training for oil and gas drilling rig crews.

As with any other apprenticeable vocation, the Rig Technician trade is a combination of documented on-the-job training and classroom technical training. The three-year program covers the three senior positions on the rig crew and is available in Canada's Alberta, BC, Saskatcheawn and the Northwest Territories.

Through the CAODC, industry has long had the resources to identify and develop training programs. Through the 1980's and 90's, Canadian rig workers became required to carry more and more certifications to address different safety concerns. Safety statistics showed a definitive rate of success through these courses. With industry-standard training, employees were better able to manage workplace hazards.

Industry recognized that new techniques and equipment will play greater roles in future activity as remaining oil and gas deposits require complex drilling programs to access them. The formal structure of a trades training program will assist drilling rig contractors in providing the workforce with consistent, relevant training, even as new equipment and techniques are implemented. This better training, in turn, will contribute to industry's ambitions to achieve higher safety standards across the rig fleet.

For many of industry's veterans, the journeyman certificate for drillers was long overdue. "Recognizing the righand as a tradesperson identifies what every righand knows: operating a drilling rig is a highly skilled job," says CAODC President Don Herring. "With trade designation, they will receive standardized, high quality training and the recognition they deserve."

More information about the Rig Technician trade available at www.rigtech.ca

October 9, 2009 9:56 AM

Questions about Rig Tech?

see: rigtech.ca

OR

Contact Nancy Malone, Manager, Economic Analysis:

(403) 264-4311 or nmalone@caodc.ca