October 1, 2004 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Nova Scotia companies hoping to land new international oil field contracts will soon have an additional drawing card - a larger pool of specially-trained offshore welders. The Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC), in partnership with the Offshore-Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia (OTANS), will expand its offering of specialized welding training to offshore fabrication workers at its Akerley Campus, in Dartmouth. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is contributing $421,500 to the project as part of the Agency's ongoing support for the further development of the region's oil, gas and energy sector. In making the announcement on behalf of ACOA, federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister, Geoff Regan, said: "The oil and gas sector offers new opportunities for growth that go beyond our borders to the global market. The Government of Canada is working with businesses to market our technical expertise around the world." "The specialized skills offered by our program will allow local welders to raise their competencies to international standards. As a result, local companies will become more competitive when bidding on offshore fabrication projects not only here, but anywhere in the world," said NSCC Vice- President of Business Development, Jeff Somerville. The Chairman of OTANS's board of directors, Tim Brownlow, said the companies involved in offshore fabrication welcome the new training initiative. "The more trained local workers we have in Nova Scotia, the stronger our industrial support base will be." NSCC will deliver a minimum of four specialized training courses ranging in duration from two to four weeks and raise the skill level of at least 40 welders over the next 16 months. ACOA's support for the project includes funds for the specialized equipment and materials used in the training. More than 8,400 full and 15,000 part-time students are enrolled in NSCC. Eighty-eight percent of NSCC graduates are employed, with 95 percent living and working in Nova Scotia. OTANS is the largest trade association in Canada specializing in the supply and services sector of the offshore oil and natural gas industry. FOR BROADCAST USE Nova Scotia companies hoping to land new international oil field contracts will soon have an additional drawing card - a pool of specially-trained offshore welders. The Nova Scotia Community College is to deliver specialized welding training to 40 offshore fabrication workers at its Akerley Campus, in Dartmouth. The program is supported by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Nova Scotia's Offshore-Onshore Trade Association. Nova Scotia's representative in the federal cabinet, Geoff Regan, said ACOA will contribute more than $400,000 to the project. - 30 - Ron Crozier Office of the Minister of ACOA (902) 888-4150 Alex Smith Director of Communications ACOA (Nova Scotia) (902) 497-0537 Neal Dawe Policy and Communications OTANS (902) 496-3184 Sara Napier Manager, Media Relations NSCC (902) 491-6781
