Recently, Canada’s rich oil sands have sparked an economic boom. Thousands of Canadians seek well-paid positions in the oil and gas industry in Alberta. Together with the rise in extraction and production jobs, this economic activity generates a growing need for well qualified safety personnel. A career as a safety expert in the expansive petroleum and gas industry offers both meaningful work and a lucrative salary.
Vital Experience
An occupational health and safety advisor generally must possess at least a few years of experience working with specialized petroleum industry equipment to receive hiring consideration. A work site inspector exercises a lot of responsibility. This type of position does not fall into the category of an easily mastered “entry-level” job. It does offer a satisfying career change for many experienced oil and gas field workers.
One reason most employers require safety advisors to possess recent field experience concerns the very real on-the-job hazards sometimes encountered by people extracting natural gas or petroleum from oil and gas sands. Safety inspectors literally save lives by requiring the correction of unsafe work site practices and malfunctioning machinery. Tragic accidents in this industry range from oil spills and fires, to unprotected falls from aerial platforms, collapsing trenches and exposure to toxic hydrogen sulfide environments.
Safety Training
Today most safety jobs in Alberta also require extensive training. In 2005, the industry implemented a nonprofit organization called Enform to conduct specific safety classes to train safety inspectors and advisors for positions involving oil and gas hazard detection and safety training. This entity resulted from the merger of Petroleum Industry Training Service (“PITS”), founded in 1949, and the more recently established Canadian Petroleum Safety Council (“CPSC”), established in 1997.
Today Enform operates four offices in Canada, including a Nisku, Alberta training facility that offers hands-on training working with specialized oil and gas heavy equipment. The organization trains Certified Instructors and designates some educational providers as Authorized Training Providers. Many employers in Alberta expect safety advisers to have passed specific safety courses offered through Enform’s auspices.
High Salaries
The lucrative salaries available for qualified safety instructors and inspectors in Alberta’s oil and gas industry have attracted considerable media attention. According to the provincial government, in 2013 these professionals earned average salaries of $75,129 per year. Government safety officers earn salaries as high as $90,000 to more than $100,000 annually and some employers currently seek safety officer instructors for positions paying a minimum of $48 per hour.
Oil and gas rig workers with experience working around elevated work platforms, oil and gas sands, hydrogen sulfide environments, and overhead cranes and lift trucks sometimes gain employment as safety advisors after taking qualified safety training classes. It may prove useful to take courses that offer detailed instruction about safety procedures relating to fire suppression, fall protection and working in confined spaces. Additionally, in order to conduct inspections, trainees must hold a valid driver’s license and pass first aid instruction courses from recognized providers.