Higher demand for land personnel is anticipated in the future
Presently, Alberta has over 200,000 wellsites that will require environmental reclamation over the next few decades while the number annually certified as reclaimed has run in the low thousands in recent years. At the same time, an average of 15,000 new wells is drilled every year. As well, large companies such as ExxonMobil and European giant Total have also expressed particular confidence in the future of the gas industry through the purchase of large North American gas reserves, helping to ensure plenty of work in the years to come for those with relevant educations.
Work in these fields is not available to untrained persons. “Land agents in Alberta are required to be licensed by the Alberta Government in order to negotiate the acquisition of certain interests in land, such as wellsites, pipelines and utility right of ways – and to obtain a land agent license a person must have completed at least 2 years of
post-secondary education that is relevant to the activities of a land agent,” says Gerald Kress, Alberta’s Deputy Registrar of Land Agents.
Similarly, reclamation technicians in the province must be members of a professional body to have legal sign-off authority in the reclamation field. Graduates of Olds College’s Land and Water Resources program are eligible to become members of the Alberta Institute of Agrology as Technical Agrologists, giving them the legal right to practice in the land reclamation industry.
“The Land Agent program at Olds College is the perfect fit for this,” says Kress. The need for land agents and land administration graduates stems from much more than just oil and gas drilling, however.
“In Alberta we have the new Land Use Framework and the Alberta Land Stewardship Act. The impact of these legislative changes could dramatically impact the relationship between industry and its stakeholders,” says Trevor Williams, Chair of Energy & Utilities Sector Relations at Olds College. “Land Agents will be at the forefront of these changes. There will be an increased need for consultation and thus oral and written communication skills along with an increased need for awareness of environmental impacts.”
Once traditionally viewed as industry representatives, farmers are increasingly enlisting land agents and administrators. There are 54,000 official farms in Alberta and landowners are looking for guidance on contracts for new takings but also on the management of existing wellsites and pipelines on their lands. Adding to the demand for land use professionals, the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association states that $43 Billion worth of pipelines are slated for construction over the next 15 years. The construction of electricity transmission lines and demand for expertise from municipalities, surface rights groups, alternative energy companies and First Nations groups will further accelerate the need for skilled graduates.
Olds College offers a one year certificate in Land Administration and two year diplomas in Land Agent and Land And Water Resource Management.
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