The “great crew change” is taking place in the oil and gas industry in general, and in the Marcellus/Utica in particular. Older workers are nearing retirement and exiting the industry in increasing numbers, and the industry isn’t attracting enough newer workers to fill the ranks. According to the Ohio Oil & Gas Association, the need for new workers in Ohio’s O&G industry is pressing. Everything from welders and truckers to people working with technology.
From drill pads to pipelines to cracker plants–all sorts of jobs are available and all sorts of workers are required. Immediately below is a news report about the need, followed by information about a job fair being held tomorrow.
Representatives in the gas and oil industry are putting out a call for workers.
“If you like to work with technology, we have opportunities for you. If you want to get out in the field and get your hands and boots dirty, we have opportunities for you,” said Mike Chadsey with the Ohio Oil and Gas Association. “It’s not only using your back, but using your mind.”
With shale development and what Chadsey calls ‘the great crew change,’ the industry is in need of the next generation of workers.
“What we have is a scenario where folks that are at their tail-end of their career, 60’s plus, are ready to retire and folks my age that are just getting started or have five or 10 years in. We don’t have a lot in between,” said Chadsey.
Chadsey says this brings about a huge opportunity, with more than 75 career paths to choose from in the industry, including jobs in drilling, pipeline work, geology, and manufacturing. He says that while some of these careers bring about opportunities to travel the world, for a lot of people, it also means the opportunity to return home.
“If you get in this industry you now have the opportunity to come back home and work in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia,” said Chadsey.
Clint Powell, with the Upper Ohio Valley Building and Construction Trades, echoed the benefits of getting into the industry.
“The good pay and as far as the union construction side of it, we have excellent pay, like I said, and insurance,” said Powell. “It pays into our pensions and some are long term jobs.”
Powell also noted that there are many ways for young adults to prepare for these types of jobs.
“It’s nice that the schools in the valley are starting to promote us a little more. Not every kid is made for college, nor wants to go to college,” said Powell.
Ryan Pasco, the Director of Energy and Engineering Initiative at Eastern Gateway Community College, says that what he has seen is a transition in the types of jobs in the field that are needed.
“A lot of the guys who were doing the welding on the oil wells, while they were putting the wells in, have now moved into the pipelines. The guys that were doing the concrete work on the wells are now at the cracker plants are now at the ancillary positions as well,” said Pasco.
Pasco says that Eastern Gateway Community College is putting out between 20 and 40 welding students per year, which has increased. The number of CDL drivers has also increased.
“The demand is that we can’t fill it with the people in the Ohio Valley that are currently trained,” said Pasco. “As far as the number of job openings, it varies. Once again, it is an unfillable number.”*
*Steubenville (OH) WTOV-TV (Mar 18, 2019) – Job opportunities abound in the oil and gas industry
The New Castle School of Trades is offering a job fair at its East Liverpool campus tomorrow, March 20, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The job fair is open to the public. There will be over 40 companies seeking potential employees for ALL skilled trade & labor positions, including companies that work in the oil and gas industry.
Here’s a list of the employers who will be there recruiting. Note that not every employer works for/in the oil and gas sector.
ACV Enviro
Advanced Sourcing Solutions
AIS Heating and Air
Anchor Hocking
Bidell Gas
Boyd Brothers Transportation
Columbiana County Engineer Dept.
Columbiana County Water & Sewer Dept.
Compass Group
Elite Gasfield Services
Express Employment Professionals –Pittsburgh West
Express Employment Professionals-Robinson Twp.
Freskmark Foods
Gordon Food Service
Graham Packaging
Gypsum Express
H.O. Wolding Co.
Integrative Staffing Group
Local 549 Iron workers
MCTA
Melton Truck Lines
Ohio One Stop
Pennex Aluminum
PTC Alliance
Quality Water Systems
Randstad Staffing
Sam’s Club
Shell Congo/Compass One/Baker
Simmers Crane Company
Simon Roofing Company
Staff Right Services
Temco Industries
Timet
TMK-IPSCO
Trails Star International
U.S. Navy
Vallourec USA
Plug this address into your GPS to get to the job fair: 129 East 5th Street, East Liverpool, OH, 43920.
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