Holland College | Opportunities plentiful for Commercial Diving grads
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Opportunities plentiful for Commercial Diving grads

Students preparing to graduate from Holland College's nationally accredited Commercial Diving program are hoping to plunge into their new careers in the Gulf of Mexico after meeting with representatives from Helix Cal Dive last week.

Travis Detke, General Manager, Diving Operations, and Frank Donovan, Senior Recruiter, came to the Holland College Georgetown Centre with Denis Mair, Regional Director of C-MAR Services (Canada) Ltd., to discuss the employment possibilities with the 14 students, who will complete their course in the next two weeks.

One of the largest marine contractors in the world, Cal Dive International provides clients with a variety of services, including manned diving (up to 300 meters); robotic services (ROVs); pipeline installation, inspection, repairs and abandonment; platform inspections, repairs and salvage; and drill rig support. Cal Dive is the largest diving contractor in the Gulf of Mexico and currently employs about 550 commercial diving personnel. While most diving is conducted in the Gulf of Mexico, operations have also been conducted in Central America, South America, Southeast Asia, the Mid-East, and the North Sea.

The Gulf of Mexico supplies approximately 30 percent of the crude oil and 21 percent of the natural gas consumed in the United States. Three category five hurricanes, Ivan, Katrina and Rita, devastated off-shore operations in the Gulf of Mexico over the past two years, with little or no time to repair the damage from one before the next hit.

With thousands of kilometers of pipeline compromised or moved out of place and many of the shallow-water drilling platforms damaged or destroyed by the hurricanes, extensive work needs to be done before the area can reach its previous production level.

Detke says the Houston-based company simply cannot keep up with the demand for services without hiring more divers, and experienced divers are becoming a rare commodity. In spite of the urgency, Detke emphasized to the students the importance of gaining experience as entry-level divers, known as tenders. Although tenders perform work underwater, they must gain considerable experience before they are permitted to do complex and dangerous operations.

Offered at the Holland College Georgetown Centre, the Commercial Diving program is designed to educate students to the highest standards in commercial diving, underwater welding, maintenance and inspection. The only program of its kind in Atlantic Canada, the goals of the program are to train students to challenge for their Unrestricted Commercial Diver Certification, their CWB Level 1 Welding Inspector Certification, their CGSB Level I Ultrasonic Inspector Certification, and their CQB 4 Position ?B? Class Fillet Weld Proficiency Certification.

The Holland College Commercial Diving program was brought to the attention of Cal Dive through international marketing efforts supported by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Frank Donovan said that when Cal Dive heard of the program, they were very interested in touring the facility and meeting the instructors and students.

"I was impressed with the modern equipment the students have to work with, and the instructors' commitment to making each and every skills test as realistic as possible," Donovan said in a recent interview.

Detke noted that the students' 34 weeks of training at Holland College enables them to learn the skills, gain hands-on experience, and challenge for the qualifications that are essential basics in order to embark on a career in commercial diving, but cautioned them about being tempted to work with companies that may not give them enough experience prior to sending them to the ocean floor.

"When you finish your training, you've only begun to learn everything that you need to know in this business," he told the students.

Although they would work on Helix vessels, any of the students offered a position following graduation would be employed by the Canadian office of C-MAR Group, an internationally recognized Marine and Human Resource Support supplier for the off shore marine industry with offices in the US, Brazil, Canada, Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

C-MAR representative Denis Mair told the students that this was an unusual opportunity.

"Post-hurricane work and high energy costs are driving the demand right now," he said. "It's going to be like this for the next two years. So for two years, you can get a tremendous amount of experience, and when the demand eases off, you'll come out of it with much more expertise than you would have otherwise."

Holland College Commercial Diving Learning Manager Steve White agreed.

"This is a great opportunity for the graduating students," he said. "The experience that they will gain over the next few years will provide them with a strong foundation and serve them in good stead for the duration of their diving careers."

Canadian divers employed by C-MAR for Helix Cal Dive are transported to and from their homes to the offshore work site at the company's expense. They are also paid their hourly rate while they are enroute to the vessel upon which they will be based. They work at sea for six weeks, and then return home for three. They also receive a $3,000 US signing bonus. On average, as tenders, the young men will earn approximately $9,000 US during their six weeks on board.

In this picture: (L-R) Travis Detke, General Manager of Diving Operations for Helix Cal Dive; Michael O'Grady, Executive Director of Programs for Holland College; and Frank Donovan, Senior Recruiter for Helix Cal Dive met in Charlottetown recently to discuss employment opportunities for graduates from Holland College's Commercial Diving progam. Cal Dive is one of the largest marine contractors in the world.

For more information about this release, please contact:
Sara Underwood, Media and Communications Officer
Tel: 902-566-9695
Date: Tuesday, May 09, 2006