By Gongwer Staff
Posted: June 5, 2013 10:23 AM

More than 70 Ohio Schools Offer Qualified Training Programs

Ohioans seeking training and employment opportunities in Ohio’s natural gas and crude oil industry now have a trusted source when seeking industry approved education and training programs.

As part of its “Careers in Ohio Series,” the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP), which had already posted a list of 75 careers in the oil and gas industry, has taken the next steps to help direct students and the general public how to attain training for these jobs. The organization has identified and compiled a listing of programs offered by Ohio educational institutions that provide qualified training programs. To date, OOGEEP has identified programs at more than 70 different Ohio colleges, universities, career centers and technical schools.

“The oil and gas industry wants to hire Ohioans. And to help make the connection between the classroom and workplace, we have diligently been working with educational institutions around the state to certify that they are providing industry specific training so these students can be hired,” said Rhonda Reda, OOGEEP executive director. “By providing this list, we want to help prevent Ohioans from being misled by programs that call themselves oil and gas training programs but are nothing more than a few safety courses.”

“The information on our redesigned website also allows individuals to search for typical job titles in the oil and gas industry which then offers fact sheets for each job title and the educational institutions that provide qualified training for that job,” states Charlie Dixon, OOGEEP’s Safety and Workforce administrator. “This list will continue to grow as more training facilities and educational institutions expand or introduce these programs.”

After completion of an Economic Impact Study in late 2011 that indicated more than 200,000 Ohioans would be employed in the oil and gas industry, the industry requested the OOGEEP identify schools that have the appropriate training and begin promoting many of these programs to the general public and through OOGEEP’s other educational and public outreach programs.

“The oil and gas companies that are doing business in Ohio want to hire qualified local individuals to work in this expanding industry. We hope the workforce career and training information on our website will make it easier for individuals to connect their career goals to their education planning,” adds Reda. “OOGEEP is also working with K-12 schools in all 88 Ohio counties to help educate them on the industry as well as to provide career connections and scholarship opportunities.

“Oil and gas exploration in the state is helping to turn Ohio’s economy around,” Reda said. “Our industry is on track to create and support thousands of Ohio-based jobs in upstream, midstream and downstream activities in Ohio’s 30+ geological formations that produce natural gas and crude oil including the Utica shale. These jobs are very technical in nature and many may require workers to work outdoors in all kinds of weather elements and will also require applicants to pass ongoing drug tests.”

For more information about workforce training programs and careers in oil and gas, check out OOGEEP’s newly redesigned website at OOGEEP.org.

The mission of OOGEEP is to facilitate educational, scholarship, safety and training programs; to promote public awareness about the industry; and to demonstrate to the general public the environmental, energy and economic benefits of Ohio’s independent natural gas and crude oil producers. OOGEEP is not funded with any taxpayer dollars.