A new program being offered at NAIT is setting a standard for foundational drilling.
The first two-year training program for the foundational operator drill rig program launches this month and is the first of its kind in North America.
Associate vice-president of continuing education and workforce development, Brian Pardell said it was the industry that asked for this program.
“The training program is connected to an institution that’s put some rigour around the curriculum,” said Pardell. “The outcomes of the program really lead towards workers that will be safe, that will be validated by industry in terms of their skill set.
“They’ll have some employability and job security for them from an accreditation standard.”
The program is designed to give drill rig operators formal training when there wasn’t any before, in an effort to make job sites safer.
“They require folks who actually have a desire to be in that industry,`added Pardell. “They want to attract a skilled workforce that can come in and operate their equipment properly, efficiently and safely.”
The two-year foundational operator drill rig program starts this month. It’s an online curriculum with nine courses, and an on-the-job experience component.
“It’s about 1,500 hours that is required for them to actually work alongside a mentor that they have selected from the industry who’s been properly trained to observe that student on the job site,” added Pardell.
Pardell stresses the program is for foundational drilling, not for anything in the ground that can be turned into petroleum.
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