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Northern Tier Industry & Education Consortium (NTIEC) will be host their annual Energy & Oilfield Career Experience summer program from Monday to Friday, Aug. 2 to 6. NTIEC will be partnering with two of the major players in the Marcellus Shale – Cabot Oil & Gas and Williams, along with several other companies/organizations that play important roles in the industry, including Golder Associates, GasSearch Drilling Services, JHA Companies, GeoSyntec, Earth Engineering Inc., Cactus, Resource Environmental, Borton-Lawson, and Lackawanna College’s School of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
“NTIEC is eager to provide this wonderful opportunity to our students so they can learn about careers in the energy and oilfield sectors.” stated Shealynn Shave, NTIEC executive director.
This summer experience program is open to students in grades 9-12, and graduating seniors are eligible to participate in the program as well. The students will be immersed in the business and operations of the natural gas industry, pairing classroom time with onsite visits to active facilities in Susquehanna and Wyoming counties.
Classroom instruction will focus on health and safety aspects, the Marcellus Shale, basic geology, engineering, equipment utilized in the field, and site safety prior to heading out to the field. The plan is to visit one of Cabot’s live drilling rigs and a completed well pad, explore one of Williams Company’s compressor stations and tour the Lackawanna College School of Petroleum & Natural Gas at its new Tunkhannock Center. Each element of instruction parallels a job opportunity in the natural gas industry.
According to NTIEC educational coordinator Deb Tierney, students will be engaged in hands-on activities that connect what they learn in the classroom discussions to what they will see first-hand in the field that demonstrates the various stages of the gas drilling and exportation process. They will also have the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of the presenters and employees at the different sites.
“This program provides exactly the type of information needed to be informed career consumers,” NTIEC educational consultant Colin Furneaux related. “By the end of the week, they will have a good idea of the various jobs entailed and the best pathways to seek employment.”
Exit polls indicated that participants in the 2019 Energy & Oilfield Career Experience were impressed by the amount of engineering and computer science that is involved with the industry, as well as the enormous amount of prevention and control at the environmental end of it.
“Learning through hands-on training, education and meeting with industry professionals can help local students understand the needs of the workforce in the northern tier. There are so many job opportunities in the energy and oilfield industry in our area that will need to be fulfilled” stated Shave.
The number of students has been reduced due to the pandemic, and all current CDC guidelines will be followed. Should there be a need to cancel the program, all participants will receive a full refund. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and costs $50 per student. Students ages 17 and under will need parental permission, which is part of the application process. The application can be found on NTIEC’s website at www.ntiec.com under the “News & Info/Events” tab. Students are responsible for securing transportation to and from the program. NTIEC will provide transportation for field trips and provide lunch each day. There are still spots available, so send in your application soon.
Are there any classes available for older adults?
The NTIEC deals specifically with students, so they wouldn’t be offering a program like this for adults. But I would think that the career centers in Bradford and Susquehanna counties could collaborate to make something like that happen.
My son is interested in the class. Is there any space still available?
I believe so. The contact information is in the story. Good luck!