Session Planned Wednesday On Natural Gas Jobs

Many jobs are available in the gas industry, but local residents who are seeking work must do their homework. At the entry level, the work can be physically demanding, involving long hours in all kinds of weather. Some jobs require 14 consecutive days, 84 hours per week, followed by 14 days off. Traveling from job site to job site across Pennsylvania and other states is to be expected. Drugs are not tolerated and other conditions apply. At the same time, there is expected to be a continuing demand for specialists – attorneys, geologists, engineers, accountants and the list goes on. Here are some numbers:

• The drilling of a single well requires 400 people working in nearly 150 occupations;
• Some 47 percent of a well’s workforce consists of jobs that do not require a four-year degree.
• Of that 47 percent, among the jobs are general labor (20%), heavy equipment operators (17%), and commercial driver’s license on- and off-road truckers (10%).

Many positions offer career growth opportunity and family-sustaining wages. Although the gas industry prefers a local workforce, many companies and their drilling contractors are hiring workers from other states because they can’t find qualified workers locally. A federally sponsored initiative, ShaleNET, supports recruitment, training, placement, and retention in high-demand occupations, including derrick operator, rotary drill operator, service unit operator, roustabout, welder/brazer, and commercially licensed driver.

A ShaleNET information session will be held from 1 to 2:30 pm Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Gunzburger Building auditorium in Coudersport. A gas industry expert will take potential employees through all phases of the industry, from drilling and production to completion and distribution. Class size is limited. To reserve a spot or learn more, contact Pam Streich at 814-773-3162. Dates of other sessions will be announced.