A big announcement being made by the province this morning, and in-person here in Weyburn from Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill and Premier Scott Moe, who are in attendance at the Saskatchewan Oil & Gas Show, being held in Weyburn today and tomorrow.
The Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre (DLC) is entering into an agreement with Teine Energy to develop new Oil & Gas high school courses. Through this new partnership, students will learn about the importance of the Oil & Gas industry, gain knowledge about career opportunities available in Saskatchewan's thriving energy industry and local companies will receive support in building a future workforce to meet consumer demands.
"Saskatchewan is producing some of the most sustainable oil and gas that you can find on Earth," commented Premier Scott Moe. "This is an opportunity for our youth, the next generation that's going to be operating this industry, and all of the industries that we have in Saskatchewan. What this is going to do is provide our students an overview of the opportunities that are in the oil and gas industry where maybe those opportunities are geographically in the province, and then as they exit high school, they might have then you know the wherewithal to make a choice about, 'I want to be part of that industry'."
"It's very important as a province that we do what we can to really show kids that there's excellent opportunities in the sector and then provide those opportunities in their high school year so that they can start going down a path of having an exciting career in the oil and gas sector," commented Cockrill. "I expect that there will be significant interest on this course, specifically in areas of the province where oil and gas plays a large role in the local economy."
Moe said the partnership is a great example of innovation that will support our province's growing economy while providing students the chance to explore the wealth of career opportunities available to them right here at home. The new courses will include work placement opportunities for students and will foster the development of a skilled workforce for our province.
Through the agreement, Teine Energy will collaborate with educators at Sask DLC to develop new online Oil and Gas 20 and 30 courses. In each course, students will take 50 hours of online theory and 50 hours of work placement, giving students hands-on learning experiences while they explore potential career paths.
Teine Energy is providing a total of $150,000 over two years to support both the development of the new online courses and the coordination of student work placements. Teine Energy is a Canadian company dedicated to meeting the demand for domestically produced, environmentally responsible energy. Teine is very active with Saskatchewan communities and is the lead sponsor of the upcoming Saskatchewan Summer Games. Teine has operations in Southwest Saskatchewan, near Kindersley and Lloydminster.
"Teine is excited to be part of shaping and supporting the careers of talented young people in the province of Saskatchewan," Teine Energy President and CEO Jason Denney said. "This program connects the energy industry with high school students as they begin to make career choices. Our goal for this program is to deliver real world experience, accelerate local energy focused employment, and ultimately enable Saskatchewan grads to pursue well paid, fulfilling careers within their home province."
There is availability for additional oil and gas companies in the province to sign on to this agreement and provide further work placement opportunities for students throughout the province.
Oil and Gas 20 will be available to students starting in Semester 2 of the 2024-25 school year, followed by Oil and Gas 30 starting in the 2025-26 school year. These courses will be available to full-time online students, as well as high school students attending local schools throughout the province to supplement their in-person learning. Sask DLC registration for next school year is now open.
These new Oil & Gas courses will add to the other online trade and agriculture courses that students currently have access to through Sask DLC that offer opportunities for hands-on work placements. These courses include Mechanical & Automotive, Autobody, Construction & Carpentry, Welding, Electrical, Power Engineering, Agriculture Equipment Technician, Parts Technician and Precision Agriculture. You can learn more about all the online courses available through Sask DLC here www.saskDLC.ca.