Job prospects Foreman/woman, Oil And Gas Well Drilling in Alberta

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "foreman/woman, oil and gas well drilling" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

These outlooks were updated on December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be good for Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services (NOC 82021) in Alberta for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

• Strong global demand for oil and gas are expected to drive the demand for contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services over the forecast period.
• The Trans Mountain pipeline and the anticipated completion of the LNG Canada project will support employment growth.
• Storage capacity, global markets, and provincial and federal regulations can all have a direct impact on employment opportunities in Alberta's oil and gas sector.

Here are some key facts about Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services in Alberta:

• Approximately 11,500 people work in this occupation.
• Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Support activities for mining, oil and gas (NAICS 213): 43%
  • Oil and gas extraction (NAICS 211): 33%
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 6%
  • Architectural, engineering and design services (NAICS 5413): 6%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 95% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 5% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 51% of contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services work all year, while 49% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 39 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 37% of contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 95% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 5% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 17% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 40% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 21% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 13% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 7% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Learn more