11Various reports have estimated the job impact for Ohio in wide ranges from around 80,000 when the

11Various reports have estimated the job impact for Ohio in wide ranges from around 80,000 when the industry is fully mature, to some that have stated there will more than 200,000 jobs in the Buckeye State attributable to oil and gas drilling.

One of the more conservative studies from IHS Global Insight in June said Ohio had 31,462 jobs attributable to shale-gas production in 2010, and that number is expected to increase to 41,366 by 2015 and 81,349 by 2035.

The key, according to those providing the training for employees being sought by companies operating locally, is not to think about jobs related to shale development as strictly those who work at the well. There are primary jobs at the rigs, secondary jobs that support the field work and tertiary positions that will grow simply because of increased economic development due to shale.

Getting into the field

There are a number of common themes for jobs related to the oil and gas industry: ability to work in all kinds of weather conditions, a willingness to put in long hours and the desire to constantly be on call.

Some of the starting positions available to people who want to work in the oil and gas industry are floorhand/roustabout, well tender/pumper, field technician, truck driver, heavy equipment operator and welder/welder helper, according to Shalenet.org, an industry website.

Working with the oil and gas industry is not for everyone, said Rex Spaulding, president of New Castle School of Trades.

The salaries within the industry are very good, but it also involves being away from family for two weeks at a time, while working nearly round the clock, he said.

“It appeals to some people, but some others when it comes down to leaving their family can’t do it,” Spaulding said.

Those people find out there are other opportunities available to them using the skills they have been taught, he said.

“We have drilling companies come in a talk to students throughout their education. They know exactly what the expectations are from the industry,” Spaulding said.

The oil and gas industry operates differently from what people are used to in this area, said Tracee Joltes, assistant director of work-force development at Eastern Gateway Community College.

“These companies run 12 hour-a-day shifts, for two or three weeks straight, seven days a week,” she said.

One of the biggest issues facing employers in this area is clean drug tests. In addition to a clean urine tests it is also important to have a solid driving record and no criminal record. There are several companies that are doing full background checks, said John Zehentbauer, career and technical director for Mahoning County Career and Technical Center.

To get the work force that will be needed within five years, the focus should be on students in middle school, said Becky Wall, executive vice president of Dearing Compressor and Pump in Boardman.

“At that age kids haven’t ruined their driving records and hopefully they haven’t gotten involved in drugs yet,” she said.

This is the group who has enough time to get itself ready with the training and qualifications needed to work in the gas business, Wall said.

MCTCC has served as the hiring base for Exterran, a company that specializes in natural-gas compression production equipment and processing facilities. The company has also worked with Weatherford International Ltd., Zehentbauer said. Exterran has announced plans to move into Youngstown after purchasing a building on Salt Springs Road. Weatherford has purchased a building in Youngstown at 1110 Performance Place on Poland Avenue, where it plans a multipurpose operations facility offering a variety of products and services that go through all stages of the industry, including well-drilling, evaluation, completion, production and intervention.

MCCTC staff takes the applications, conducts the interviews and then can provide any necessary training include the Safeland certification the employee might need, he said.

“It’s a benefit for these companies because they often don’t have facilities open and we can do all their training right here,” Zehentbauer said.

Primary jobs

For any type of job someone might want in the oil and gas industry, they should get a certification that showcases their skills if possible, said Kelly Weikart, adult education director at Columbiana County Career and Technical Center.

“People say all the time they can weld or do something else, but it’s completely different if you can show a nationally accredited certification,” she said.

Oil and gas companies will typically do their own training after a potential employee is hired regardless of any prior training they had received, Joltes said. Each employee represents a $50,000 to $90,000 investment.

The jobs can be excellent with good pay. The companies often look for people who are former military members or firefighters because they are used to working in all conditions and understand a job has to continue until it is finished regardless of the time, she said.

“They understand they can’t be missing or absent for a day,” Joltes said.

Another thing people should understand is most within the industry start in jobs that are not on the drilling rigs, she said.

The companies typically hire from people already working as part of a crew at a site, Joltes said. A starting job might be driving or cleaning tanks.

Secondary jobs

There are a number of positions that are growing that are related to the oil and gas industry but might not be employed directly by a company such as Shell, BP or Chesapeake.

The oil and gas industry, along with manufacturing in general, is asking for a number of people who can weld, Weikart said.

“We can’t produce enough welders. We graduated around 40 welders, and each one of them had multiple offers,” she said. “They’ve got their choice of companies. It’s crazy.”

Due to the demand for more welders, the center has recently spent $1.2 million to double the size of the welding laboratory, Weikart said. The lab is expected to be finished in a week or so.

The most common demand for welders for the oil and gas industry is that they have a 6G welding certification, she said. This certification is for pipe welding and indicates the person can do all angles of pipe welding.

Machine fabrication is another industry that is growing due the shale industry. Manufacturing companies within the area are looking for more people who can run lathes or do other machine work to supply the oil and gas industry, Weikart said.

Specialty Fab Inc. in North Lima is one of those companies looking for welders. The company works closely with the technical centers to hire students both going through the program and graduates, said Brian Dwyer, vice president of manufacturing for Specialty. His company makes compressor skids for Dearing Compressor along with other specialty parts.

“Finding experienced workers is sort of a struggle,” he said.

The oil and gas companies, while providing extra work, are also providing competition. Specialty cannot pay what the oil companies do for welders, Dwyer said.

The company currently has three juniors from CCCTC working full time for the summer who will continue part time when school begins in late August, Dwyer said.

Tertiary careers

There are a lot of industries that will benefit over time from growth in the oil and gas industry that have nothing to do with the work being done at well sites, said William Bussey, superintendent at Mid-East Career and Technology Centers in Zanesville.

The key is to be careful in the development of programs, he said.

“We have to develop the students of today for not only the jobs of today, but also the jobs of tomorrow,” he said.

More jobs will be available due to oil and gas exploration than just those working on the rigs and the industries that directly support them. Over time as more jobs are created it will increase need for retail workers, Bussey said.

There will also be the need for more people to service and sell the additional cars that will be purchased, he said. Increased jobs in shale and related industries will impact nearly every other field, particularly in service industries.

For example, the Shale Tavern and Days Inn near Lisbon now employ a total of 70 people, according to owner Michal Naffah. When his company purchased the hotel, it had five or six employees. The hotel and tavern both have found a niche serving the oil and gas workers.