Keyano College power engineering questions

[woodsman27]

Does anyone know what the power engineering program is like at Keyano? I'm sure the chance of getting a 6 month work term over the new few months is slim, but when the price of oil was high what was the typical salary for a 6 month work term? Also, how many people in the program usually get work terms?

Or is it better to just go to Nait for the 2 year program or the online program? Any help would be appreciated. I'm looking at making a career change while things are slow.

 

[mathrulz]

The Keyano program should still be the easiest in terms of getting a guaranteed placement - all the locally based companies have agreements to hire from Keyano first. If you're ok with living in Fort Mac, it's the way to go I'd say. Otherwise, the full 2-year tech program at NAIT or SAIT would be advisable. Doing it by correspondence is ok, but with things a bit slower now, you'll be last in line to get a student term or new grad job for sure.

The company I worked for in '08 and '09 paid Keyano students in the low to mid 30's per hour for a student term. I'm sure this is closer to 40, or maybe just over $40/hr these days. Can't remember if the students got any extra perks too or not (travel, northern living, camp, etc...).

 

[woodsman27]

That’s not bad at all for starting out as a student, especially when you’re only in school for 4 months out of the year. I’m sure it depends on the company, but during the 6 month work term do most companies require that you live in McMurray? Or will they pay for travel on your days off?

 

[mathrulz]

The companies with a preference to Keyano (Suncor, Syncrude, Shell, CNRL, Nexen) have their staff based in Fort Mac, although Suncor, CNRL, and Shell also have at least started to implement a fly in/out program for some of their business. Irregardless, you're free to do or go where you'd like on your days off generally. The fly in/out options are the only ones I'm aware of that compensate you and/or provide any sort of travel assistance however. I'm not sure these programs would be available to students (possibly though) for the above mentioned companies. Other places operate exclusively via fly in/out operations, which would mean students would get this benefit as well. I'd imagine the competition for these is higher however as most do not give priority to a specific school as far as I know.

 

[displacement4me]

Sorry, but in my opinion I think you should shift this up a bit. You're looking at making a career change - the salary for a work term should be irrelevant. The knowledge and field experience are what is going to be behind you at the end of it. The SAIT and NAIT programs are superior as far as exposure to a variety of equipment. You will see cross sections of pumps, turbines, exchangers, boiler designs, the whole works ... as well as operate/startup/shutdown these functional modules in a lab.

Keyano work terms are not guaranteed, they haven't been for two years. They are pumping out more students than industry demand right now. There are stories of students who had to volunteer at Keyano's new lab in order get their steam time for 4th and 3rd class tickets. You can still learn, but its based off your efforts in the books. Keyano's lab isn't as extensive as NAIT or SAIT. Work terms don't have an established salary for students either. They ranged from ~$18 to $30/40, depending on the site. And because of the lack of demand, sites are starting to interview candidates prior to taking them, even though they may have gotten the marks and written part of their ticket as far as the Keyano side goes.

Students don't get perks like fly-in/fly-out, retention, living allowance, etc. Certain sites get a daily travel pay which some pay to students, but not all. Some sites have cut retention or started phasing it out as well ...

It's almost a gamble to be honest. Put in the time and effort in class, and be able to present yourself professionally when it comes to work placements. Chase a work term to gain experience, return to 2nd year at Keyano and do the same again. Second year work terms often come with full time job offers, so you can enquire a second year work term based on sites you would potentially like a future with, but that isn't guaranteed. You may get a poor paying work term in the short term, but completing the course and coming away from the Keyano program with a 3rd Class ticket and two 6 month work term experiences on a resume will help the long term, it might need a little patience that's all.

Good luck!