Oil field job project carries on

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The Peace Arch Project, a five-year-old program that helps Native people in northern Alberta find work in the oil industry, has been renewed for two more years.

And although the recession and downturn in the oil patch have taken their toll on local job prospects, the project's renewal has sparked new interest in the participating communities, a spokesman said.

"The extension has driven up the requests from the communities," said Peter Verity, chairman of the project's management committee.

"From their standpoint, there is a realization that to take advantage of commercial opportunities, they need the skills and training that will enable them to compete. They are not looking for hand-outs, but they realize they are at a disadvantage, because for so long they have been overlooked."

The Peace Arch Project was created in 1988 to build better communications between major oil companies and Native communities north of Slave Lake.

The idea was borrowed from a committee set up in Fort McKay in the mid-80s

to build relations with Syncrude Canada and Suncor, the region's two major employers.

The companies wanted to work with Fort McKay to create employment and economic benefits. Eventually, other neighboring communities gained benefits as well.

At that time, however, the Peace Arch area was not seeing the same kind of opportunities arising from local resource development. The oil companies had no way

of communicating with the communities.

Hence the model working in Fort McKay was transplanted to Peace Arch.

The Peace Arch Project's goal is to train Natives for jobs in the local oil business. To date it successfully placed 90 people in full-time and part-time positions.

Some of the communities involved are Atikameg, Cadotte Lake, Little Buffalo, Loon Lake, Peerless Lake, and Trout Lake. The oil companies include Gulf Canada, Amoco and Petro Canada.

A major part of the project's funding comes from the Canada-Alberta Northern Development Agreement. It involves three major stakeholders: the provincial and federal government, oil companies, and the communities.

"We are trying to improve the communications and relations between the three stakeholders, by increasing the long-term employment and business opportunity between these people," said Verity.

With a better understanding of the working of industry and government, the communities feel they can become more independent of the project as communications increases.

And because the project has a finite life span, one goal is to encourage local oil companies to look to the communities first, before hiring people from other areas.

But despite a measure of success in the past, the project is facing one major hardship--the downturn in the oil business. The ravage have greatly reduced the chance

of getting full-time permanent jobs. But Verity said there are still a lot of opportunities for temporary contract work.

Paddy Noskey, the program's community chairman, said while communities are satisfied with the project, there are lingering feelings more people could have been hired. But there is potentially a bright spot on the horizon.

"We have a project going right now, a joint project by the Alberta Vocational College and Fairview College. There are 20 students right now training for oil and gas."

Upon completion Noskey said hopefully some of the students will be able to secure work in the industry. But he couldn't put a finger on how many would actually find jobs.

"On-the-job training is done by the local companies. Depending how well the students do, those companies may keep them on," Noskey said.

Peace Arch co-ordinator Peter Ladouceur understood where Noskey was coming from, but painted a broader picture.

"The 20 people taking the oil and gas maintenance program will be qualified to bid on any type of job that comes up in Canada," Ladouceur said.

"We're not necessarily going to focus on the Peace Arch area anymore. If these young individuals are interested in moving out of this area ito other provinces, we have connections through the oil companies to do that for these young guys."

He added that aspect may not be carefully comprehended or appreciated.

"I don't have tunnel vision. I have to look abroad to see how we could best facilitate these young people in finding employment."

Ladouceur feels the major oil companies have done well in their efforts to hire local people.

"I don't see a problem there at all, they have come a long way. Where I see difficulties is the new players, the independent oil companies that come into this area don't know how to deal with Native people. They are beginning to revert to how oil companies used to deal with Native people 20 years ago, which was to ignore them."

But we're just starting to tap these guys and there is a way to go yet."