Delta-based program to keep moneY in NWT
Maria Canton
Northern News Services
Inuvik (May 18/01) - Located within municipal boundaries, Aurora College's new Akita 15 drilling rig will be visible from Inuvik's downtown -- if organizers can enrol 84 students and secure $819,000 in funding by the end of June.
The Inuvik Drilling Rig Training Program is a progressive move made by the college in an attempt to keep potential oil and gas industry employees in the region and training dollars in the territory.
"The nicest thing about this program is we're getting oil and gas training in the region, geared for the region and the training money is staying in the NWT instead of going south," said Rick Clarke, Aurora College's industrial and oil and gas training co-ordinator for the Sahtu and Beaufort Delta.
Currently, floorhand trainees (rig workers) are travelling to either Nisku, Alta., Fort Nelson, B.C., or Fort St. John, B.C., to be trained on pseudo-working rigs. If the Inuvik program goes ahead, it will surpass both B.C. programs and be on par with Nisku's.
The rig will consist of a 400-metre capped hole that will allow trainees to mimic the practice of lowering and retracting a pipe while drilling. Classroom safety training will make up the other part of the program, along with a separate truck-training course.
Preliminary work for the program got off the ground in March and Clarke said they want to start the first 12-day training session by mid-July.
"The oil and gas industry has always been very responsive, things happen fast. We're trying to satisfy industry needs, yet ensure we have ample time to meet all of the regulations," he said.
All students will have to pass a drug test before anyone is allowed to start the rig portion of the training.
"There is a zero tolerance policy for anyone on floorhand training," said Clarke.
"After the (classroom) safety part of the course everyone will undergo a drug test and if they fail they can't go onto the rig."
The restriction is in keeping with the current zero tolerance policy enforced by petroleum giants and exploration companies already working in the region.
Inuvik's town council recently approved a plot of land at the end of Navy Road for the rig to be set up on, welcoming the program as a positive move for both the town and the region.
Once the program is established, said Clarke, they can start training instructors, instead of flying instructors up.
And if all goes well, a host of other training programs have potential to come on board, leaving only the resources to be exported from the territories.
