Oil sands development helps provide a lot of fuel for the continent. (Suncor alone often produces over 300,000 barrels of crude oil a day, much of which is refined into fuels). But oil sands also power something that’s significantly less combustible — jobs.
Suncor has an employee complement of more than 12,000 with plans to add more than 1,000 new positions in 2012.
As governments around the world grapple with stewarding economic recovery, the need for stable jobs has never been greater. That’s why the oil sands are so critical to the North America economy.
As we’ve noted in a previous OSQAR, the oil sands are an economic powerhouse whose effects reach far beyond Fort McMurray. According to the independent Canadian Energy Research Institute (PDF), investment and reinvestment of revenues from new oil sands projects will reach approximately $2.1 trillion from 2010 to 2035 (optimism that’s also shared by Oilcareers.com’s recent 2011 Hiring Outlook). Within this same period, CERI expects employment that’s directly or indirectly related to the oil sands to grow from 75,000 to 905,000. Check out the slides below for oil sands’ forecasted impact on the North American economy as well as 2010 Suncor employment and supplier spending figures.
For every two oil sands-related jobs created in Canada, CERI also predicts that another job will be created in the U.S. It’s no wonder the industry has already taken steps to recruit the best students and professionals into the growing field.
Organizations like the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada (PHRC), which hosts the Careers in Oil and Gas website, are trying to fill the vacancies created by departing professionals and increasing demand. (The PHRC expects unemployment to fall below five percent by 2020 (PDF), creating significant competition for worker.) So, the organization connects would-be employees with general industry information, training and education and other job-seeking tools designed to pair Canadians with the jobs they need.
Suncor, too, has been moving aggressively to meet the demand for talented, skilled people. In 2012, we have plans to add more than 1,000 new positions to our more than 12,000-employee complement. Of the new positions, we expect nearly 15 percent to be in the engineering realm and about 10 percent to be trades and technical positions.
While oil sands plays an essential role in providing steady fuel feedstock, it may also be just as important as an economic engine and a rare sunny patch in an otherwise uncertain sky.
From us to you, please have a happy Thanksgiving
OSQAR will be taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. Watch for our next edition the week of October 17.
