Canada's Oil Industry

[Gerry Clinchy]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/27...king-for-work/
Lots of jobs for skilled workers in Canada's oil industry. They are particularly looking for skilled workers who will then be able to set up the apprenticeships for training future workers.

Occurs to me that if the US's skilled oil workers all get good jobs in Canada (which could continue for the next decade), if the US finally starts exploiting its own new-found reserves ... where will we get the skilled workers from if they're already working in Canada?

Canada is looking to hire tens of thousands of skilled workers for its booming energy industry. With the third-largest oil and gas reserves in the world, after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, Canada wants to double its oil production in the next 10 years. While it has plenty of oil to tap, there aren't enough skilled workers to help secure it.

That's especially true in the western province of Alberta, where mining the oil sands and creating the infrastructure for it is providing plenty of work.

Ironworker Mike Riordan left Minnesota for Alberta's capitol city of Edmonton - which serves as a staging ground for many of the big oil companies. Riordan says work was slow for him in the U.S. and he's now making twice what he was back home.

[Franco]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/27...king-for-work/
Lots of jobs for skilled workers in Canada's oil industry. They are particularly looking for skilled workers who will then be able to set up the apprenticeships for training future workers.

Occurs to me that if the US's skilled oil workers all get good jobs in Canada (which could continue for the next decade), if the US finally starts exploiting its own new-found reserves ... where will we get the skilled workers from if they're already working in Canada?

First, domestic oil production in the USA is at an alltime high. Finding skilled workers has always been a problem because the jobs move from region to region. Around here, the oil patch is bring in Mexican welders for oilfield fabrication because of the lack of skilled welders. A good welder can make 70K plus a year with benefits!

Got to love the current $2.95 per gallon for gasoline, 87 octane.

[HPL]

I bet Canada is having a hard time attracting them as they are also in huge demand here in the US, and some of those skilled workers can work across several industries. I know that the guys that build the offshore platforms around here are sucking up lots of welders and pipe fitters. Big billboards up advertising for those positions.