News Cuttings

Lone Star College, Patterson-UTI, IADC honored with 2015 Faraday Award for veteran career development program

The Faraday Award, presented by Electric Power and Prequalified Ready Employees for Power International, recognizes and honors employers, programs and partnerships focused on transitioning veterans into careers in the energy industry.

IADC, Lone Star College – Office for Workforce Education and Patterson-UTI were recognized for their collaboration on a program that screens, prepares, trains and onboards returning veterans for careers in the oil and gas drilling industry. The effort provides meaningful careers to veterans, and since April 2012, it has enjoyed a 92% placement rate for more than 150 participants.

The award was presented on 21 April during the Electric Power Conference in Chicago.

“This collaboration is a part of a larger effort between IADC, educational institutions and industry known as the Workforce Attraction and Development Initiative (WADI). At the heart of this project is an effort to attract and develop new-hire candidates to the oil and gas industry. US veterans, in particular, have many of the skills necessary to succeed in this industry, due to their previous military training, which emphasizes attention to detail and leadership,” Brooke Polk, IADC Competence and Learning Development Specialist, said. “IADC is proud to have been a participant in this collaboration and honored to be presented with the 2015 Faraday Award along with Lone Star College and Patterson-UTI.”

Click here to access more information about the 2015 Faraday Awards.

Submissions being taken for IADC Chairman’s Award

The IADC Chairman’s Anniversary Award will recognize field-based individuals who have directly impacted or improved performance for their company, either through a project or personal effort. The award will be given every five years as part of IADC’s anniversary celebrations.

Submissions for this year’s award will be judged by a group of IADC staff and industry veterans and be presented during the IADC Annual General Meeting in November in San Antonio, Texas. Nominations are being accepted through 31 May, and the winner will be contacted in August.

Click here to access the submission form for IADC Chairman’s Anniversary Award.

IADC Knowledge, Skills and Abilities competencies updated

IADC recently added Technical Maintenance and Marine Operations competencies to the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) competencies database.

The database is a free resource for all industry stakeholders. It includes competencies for more than 73 rig-based positions, listing the recommended capabilities that personnel must possess to safely and consistently fulfill their job roles. The competencies provide a means by which a worker can accurately and definitively demonstrate his or her capabilities.

The database allows industry users to generate, on demand, a unique set of competencies based on position, rig type and operational environment, providing the industry a tool to demonstrate the qualifications of their personnel.

KSA competencies can be used to build or evaluate in-house competency programs, assess personnel capabilities and qualifications by building assessment guides, build personnel development tools by identifying competency strengths and can assist in the development of career advancement pathways.

The KSAs are IADC’s answer to the need for globally accepted competency standards. More than 70 subject matter experts from across the industry collaborated on the project, which was initiated in 2012.

“The expansion of job roles and development of new technologies, along with more challenging drilling environments, necessitated the industry to work together to develop and maintain KSA competencies and ensure the competence of our workforce,”  Mark Denkowski, IADC Executive Vice President, Operational Integrity, said.

Click here to access the IADC KSA competencies database.

IADC Houston Chapter accepts scholarship donation

Ben Bloys, Chevron, presented IADC Houston Chapter Chairman Jeff Kessler, Blake International Rigs, with a $10,732 donation on behalf of the former Drilling Engineering Association (DEA) on 17 March. DEA disbanded in 2014 as a separate organization and transitioned into the IADC Drilling Engineers Committee.