The rain is falling at Midale, Sask., and for oilpatch worker Fraser Hein, that means no work on the rigs today.
Instead, the 19-year-old deckhand from Oyen, Alta., will spend the day in the shop, maintaining equipment, cleaning service trucks, painting hand tools and making sure things are ready for the next break in the weather.
For Hein, shop days are costly. When the service rig is running, his hourly wage is $24.
But on shop days, work hours are shorter and the wages are lower.
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In the past, young men like Hein might have considered signing on as farm hands, but in today’s economy, more lucrative jobs beckon.
On the oil rigs, even with no previous experience, minimal training and a Grade 12 education, Hein can easily gross $250 a day.
In a good month, if the weather co-operates and the rig runs steady, gross earnings of $5,000 or $6,000 aren’t out of the question.
“I came here about three weeks ago,” said Hein, one of four family members employed by the oil industry.
“Right after I got out of high school, my friend Adam told me there was work here, so I thought I’d come out and earn some money.”
Although Hein is a newcomer to the oilpatch, he’s no stranger to hard work.
He’s held summer positions and part-time jobs since he was 13 years old and has experience in the construction, retail and hospitality industries.
His last job, working at the Oyen bar, was a decent gig but the money was nothing compared to what he’s earning now.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” said Hein.
“The other guys are like, ‘oh, this paycheque’s really going to suck. It’s only going to be like a couple of grand.’ “
“Then there’s me. I’m thinking, ‘sweet, I can actually get some stuff paid off.’ “
Cilff Haddow, foreman for Venture Well Servicing in Estevan, Sask., said newcomers like Hein are becoming more common on oil crews across the West.
“We’re getting a lot of young, entry level people but it’s hard to find experienced, qualified help,” said Haddow, a 24-year veteran of the oil industry.
“If you can’t find qualified help, you take new guys out. It slows the process down somewhat but you take the time to train them on the job and do what you can.”
With four service rigs employed in Western Canada and the United States, Haddow has been depending on newspaper ads, the internet and word of mouth to generate new job applicants.
Starting wages for an entry level worker range from $20 to $25 an hour and the qualifications are minimal.
If they’re dependable and willing to work long, hard hours, chances are they’ll land a job.
“Right now, the only specific thing that I look for in an entry level man is a valid driver’s licence,” said Haddow.
“From there, I immediately have to have him in for H2S training, which is a one day course. They have to have that before they can go onto a job site.”
Like Hein, 19-year-old Mike Moore is also earning a bigger paycheque after a recent decision to switch careers.
Until recently, Moore had been working full time for a grain and oilseed producer near Esterhazy, Sask., operating tractors, trucks, combines and other farm machinery.
But in January, he landed a job with Procon, a British Columbia company that services North America’s booming mining industry.
In his new job, Moore manages water inflows at a nearby potash mine to ensure against underground flooding.
The new position offers full health and dental benefits, a company sponsored pension plan and a four-on, four-off work schedule.
“Workwise, I loved working on the farm but the money was a big factor,” said Moore, a Grade 12 graduate with a farming background.
“I’m probably making at least $500 to $1,000 more a month with Procon than I was (as a farm labourer).”
Ralph Gillies, an Estevan area resident with 35 years of experience in the oilpatch, said the money offered in the oil and mining industries is a big draw, not only for farm workers but for farmers as well.
Until a few years ago, Gillies worked full time in the oilpatch and grew grain on the family farm during his days off. But after years of subsidizing the grain operation with oil money, he finally decided enough was enough.
Today, Gillies rents out his grainland, raises a few sheep and is in the process of selling his coal-rich home quarter.
According to Gillies, who has worked on the rigs since the early 1970s, Western Canada’s oilpatch has been this busy before, but it’s never seen such an acute shortage of manpower.
“It’s getting to the point now, where there are so many new rigs moving in that the whole industry is just spread too thin,” said Gillies, who needs three more men to fill vacancies on his own oil crew.
“I really don’t know where the new workers are going to come from.
“Right now, every industry in the area is short, right down to the restaurants. And I really don’t know if it would (help to) raise the wages. There just doesn’t seem to be enough people around.”
