President emeritus of the International association of drilling contractors (IADC), Lee Hunt, blogging on GE’s Change Forum observed starkly that ‘between retirements and industry growth, we collectively face a chasm of insufficient talent needed for a sustainable industry.’ Hunt outlines some of the efforts currently being pursued by educational establishments to enhance recruitment, training and certification of oilfield entry level staff. The IADC has launched a workforce attraction and development initiative (WADI), an outreach program that advocates competency based training for drilling rig positions such as roustabout, roughneck, floor-hand and driller.
Houston Community College1, has announced a global oil and gas drilling training center, run in cooperation with the University of Texas at Tyler. The program covers advanced skills in mechanics, electronics and hydraulics. HCC has also kicked off the Rig-One experience, a safety and skills laboratory that includes a mock-up of the working environment for offshore roustabouts along with a blended, e-learning and classroom course. Visit Rig-One.
1. Hunt is a strategic advisor to the acting chancellor of the HCC on Rig-One.
© Oil IT Journal - all rights reserved.