Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Cenovus’ Vawn SAGD facility. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
When Saskatchewan’s new online high school oil and gas class was announced last June at the Saskatchewan Oil & Gas Show, there was one oil company onboard. Now, with the first class starting in two weeks, there are four.
The provincial government announced on Jan. 17 three additional energy companies are partnering with Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre (Sask DLC) and Teine Energy to support the creation of new online oil and gas high school courses with work placements.
Cenovus Energy, Vermilion Energy and Whitecap Resources have joined Teine Energy’s commitment to provide support and industry expertise to Sask DLC’s development of new Energy and Mines – Oil & Gas 20 and 30-level online courses.
The four energy companies, each with operations in the province, are providing a combined total of up to $160,000 over two years to support the creation of the new courses and to fund a coordinator position to facilitate student work placements and industry engagement opportunities.
“The energy sector is an important part of our province’s strong and growing economy – both locally and globally,” Minister Responsible for Sask DLC Everett Hindley said in a release. “It is exciting to see Saskatchewan students will be able to learn about the career opportunities that exist here in our province and gain the skills and knowledge they need to have a successful future in the oil and gas industry.”
Starting in Semester 2 of this school year, students will be taking Energy and Mines – Oil & Gas 20 as part of the pilot of this new online course with work placements. Energy and Mines – Oil & Gas 30 will be available to students starting in the 2025-26 school year.
In the 20 and 30-level elective courses, students will take 50 hours of online theory to learn about the industry, safety and career paths available to them as well as 50 hours of hands-on learning through an industry work placement. Registration for these classes is limited to ensure all students are matched with the work placement required for course completion.
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These new online courses are based on the Ministry of Education’s existing Energy and Mines curriculum and are available to full-time Sask DLC students or high school students attending local schools throughout the province, to supplement their in-person learning.
This past summer Pipeline Online submitted its own unsolicited suggested curriculum to the Ministry of Education for consideration in the class. The submission was made by Brian Zinchuk of Pipeline Online, Brian Crossman of Independent Well Servicing (and columnist with Pipeline Online), and Colan Trail of Burgess Creek Exploration. How much, if any, of those suggestions were incorporated remains to be seen.
Beyond the financial support of the course development, Teine Energy and Whitecap Resources have also agreed to host student work placement hours at their locations throughout Saskatchewan to supplement student learning.
The mix of companies is significant as it covers all four oilpatch areas of the province. Cenovus is the dominant operator in northwest Saskatchewan, focused on heavy oil. In west central Saskatchewan, Teine is the leading company. Whitecap is active in both southwest and especially southeast Saskatchewan. And Vermilion also operates in the southeast.
The four companies also have the opportunity to provide a representative to the steering committee that is providing valuable industry feedback to the Sask DLC course developers currently creating these new online courses.
“Teine looks forward to continued collaboration with Sask DLC on the Oil & Gas program and providing opportunities to students with hands-on experience within our field operations,” Teine Energy Vice-President of Production and Operations Tyler Homan said. “The future of our Canadian industry and energy economy relies on bright and talented young minds and workers driving their own success and sharing the prosperity across our communities.”
“Cenovus relies on the ingenuity and talent of our people to drive our success,” Cenovus Energy Vice-President, Lloyd Thermal and Conventional Heavy Oil Operations Nicolas Zaher said. “By providing students with accessible courses, Sask DLC is developing a strong pipeline of talent for our company, equipped to take on the energy jobs of today and tomorrow and advance our industry in this important region.”
“At Vermilion, our people are our strength,” Vermilion Energy Inc. President and CEO Dion Hatcher said. “That is why we are excited to work on this collaborative initiative to help students gain valuable skills to help them find a fulfilling career in the energy industry.”
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“Whitecap Resources is very pleased to support this initiative, which will give students an opportunity to gain an understanding about the oil and gas sector that provides economic prosperity and energy security to the Province of Saskatchewan and the entire country, and in turn, further economic security of individuals who choose to work in the industry,” Whitecap Resources President and CEO Grant Fagerheim said.
These new courses complement similar hands-on learning and work placement opportunities available to students through Sask DLC, including:
- Agriculture Equipment Technician;
- Autobody;
- Construction & Carpentry;
- Electrical;
- Mechanical & Automotive;
- Parts Technician;
- Power Engineering ;
- Precision Agriculture;
- Tourism; and
- Welding.
More information about the online courses is available through Sask DLC at saskDLC.ca.
- 0086 Sask Gov Oil and Gas Incentive Programs0086 Sask Gov Oil and Gas Incentive Programs
- 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
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- 0011
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- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
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