Which certificates and courses are needed for this maritimer to get himself back to 'Berta?
Long story short, I worked in Alberta as a wildland firefighter (helicopters, flames, burning trees, hard work, etc) before returning to NB to pursue an education in power engineering.
I did quite well in my program and ended up finishing with the highest academic standing. I have been working at a mill site here in NB since graduation. Although for the most part I like my job, and I am grateful for the experience I'm getting while some in my class have yet to find employment, I had always planned on getting back to Alberta once I finished school. Now Covid obviously threw a wrench into those plans and I've been struggling to get any callbacks from applications I am sending out to Alberta.
I'm not running a boiler where I'm at right now and technically my actual position is a utility operator. However, I have spent quite a bit of time on the panel lately and gained valuable experience in process control operations. I am LOTO certified and that is one of my favorite parts of my job. But because I'm not working the boiler side of things I'm also not earning any steam hours towards my second class and that is the main driver for me looking outside of the company right now. I have already written and passed two 2nd class exams and know that I want my 2nd class.
I guess my question for you fine redditors and fellow power engineers is what extra certs do you need to have in Alberta for companies to even look twice at your resume? Are things like H2S Alive, and ground disturbance must-haves in industry out there or are employers mainly looking for experience and willing to train the right employee?
Thanks for any insights you have on the topic. I will add that I have also heard times are tough in Alberta right now but I thought that with the country opening up that things might start to pick up out there again as people begin to travel.
Posted Jul 1, 2021, 12:02 AM UTC · edited