After a slowdown in the last couple years, construction activity is slowly increasing again in Fort McMurray and the Regional Municipality
of Wood Buffalo in industrial, residential and commercial
construction. For information on construction projects, see the Oil Sands Project Report or the Wood Buffalo Economic Update report. You can also look at projects across Alberta on the Government of Alberta's Inventory of Major Projects.
Industrial
(Oil Sands) Development
Oil
sands development creates growth in the construction
industry in Wood Buffalo,
as well as the rest of Alberta and Canada. The primary
projects are industrial construction of new or expansion
of existing oil sands facilities.
Commercial
and residential construction is also an
important part of the construction industry in Wood Buffalo.
There
is a wide range of employment levels in construction and
it
is an industry you can work you way up in. Factors that
affect the number of jobs:
- Stage
of construction determines the number and type of workers
that are required.
- Plant
turnarounds or shutdowns employ many tradespeople or
maintenance staff for short
periods of time.
- Scheduled
turnarounds occur in the spring/summer, however unscheduled
shutdowns follow a mishap or anticipated need for maintenance
or repair work.
- Season
and weather can affect the amount and type of work.
- Some
contractors employ
tradespeople
through union halls. View the list of local unions for
contact information.
There
has been an increased demand for all trades but especially
for journeymen with Alberta
trade certification or Interprovincial
Red Seal certification and certified apprentices. Also,
for more information on Apprenticeship in trades, view the
April
2008 Labour Market News.
Life of an Oil Sands Construction Project
Construction
work is contracted to construction companies.
Camp facilities may be available to non-residents when
the construction sites are located outside of Fort McMurray,
especially for projects that are further away. Length of
employment will vary with the timing, location and type
of contract. Contract workers may be required to provide
their own transportation to the place of work. Some of
the engineering work is done in Edmonton and Calgary. Large
modules are often constructed in the Edmonton area and
transported to Fort McMurray.
Valid
CSTS (Construction Safety Training
System) certification is required at all industrial
construction sites as well as OSSA (Oil
Sands Safety Association)
training.
Residential and Commercial Development
The residential
and commercial construction industries are facing the same
problems finding skilled workers as the
industrial construction industry.
Companies need ticketed tradespeople, or entry-level workers
willing to work hard and care about the final product.
Visit our Employer
Websites section for employers that hire in the construction
industry. Also,
visit the Alberta
Learning Information Service for
more information on specific jobs, wages and education
needed.
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