Oxbow 鈥� Driving past Red Hawk Well Servicing Inc.鈥檚 Oxbow location, you can鈥檛 miss the help wanted billboard along the highway. And that鈥檚 kind of the point.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been trying to hire. That sign鈥檚 been there for a year. We don鈥檛 take it down anymore,鈥� said Terry Gunderman, owner, on Nov. 14.
鈥淚f a good guy walked in the door, we鈥檇 hire him, just to have him on hand for relief duty.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a severe labour shortage of good people. Getting good people that can pass the drug test is a real challenge. They鈥檙e getting to be fewer and further between,鈥� he said.
Marijuana might have been decriminalized a year ago, but that doesn鈥檛 mean much if you want to work service rigs. If you were smoking dope on Sunday, don鈥檛 expect a job on Monday.
鈥淢ost of our customers say they don鈥檛 want any drugs in the system on their location. They don鈥檛 care what the law is, on their sites, they don鈥檛 want anything in your system. The majority of them, anyways,鈥� Gunderman said.
鈥淚f we had four good people walk in the door, we鈥檇 hire them. Four good people, who could pass the drug test and have a license, we鈥檇 hire them on the spot,鈥� he said.
It鈥檚 not just enough to have a proper license, but to be insurable. If you have too many points against your license, you aren鈥檛 insurable.
鈥淚 think everybody is in the same boat. Most of my competitors, they have rigs sitting because they don鈥檛 have people for them. It鈥檚 as frustrating as hell,鈥� he said.
Red Hawk has about 70 people, between the shop and on the rigs. They have 10 rigs, but eight were working on that day. The others work on occasion, but it鈥檚 hit and miss.
They barely have enough people to man all ten rigs. 鈥淚f all ten were working, we鈥檇 be scrambling,鈥� he said.
It鈥檚 always a challenge to have relief help.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the drilling rigs are all that different. I think they鈥檙e in the same situation,鈥� Gunderman added.
This winter is looking like more of the same. 鈥淲e were all looking for a better outcome, come October, and that didn鈥檛 happen. I think reality is setting that this is the new norm, and we鈥檙e going to figure out how it鈥檚 going to work.
Their fleet of ten rings is made up of five singles and five doubles. While other companies have reported difficulties in finding work for singles these days, four of Red Hawk鈥檚 singles have been working. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been lucky with our singles. They move pretty fast and rig up pretty fast. They鈥檝e got to be in the right place, right customer. I think there鈥檚 still a place for them. It kind of changes, the flavour of the day, once in a while. Two years ago, we couldn鈥檛 get singles out the door fast enough. Now it kind of went the other way.鈥�
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