In this fairy tale, the frog finish as frog, but with $5000 less

When somebody asure you that investing $5000 you'll have $60.000 o more the first year... you would suspect about, sounds too good to be real, so, or you're very smart and the others stupids or The owner of MDS is very smart and you, well, you know...
 In the other hand, so much money for a 20 days training, you want to think that must be for some reason... kind of job recruiter or so... I'm sorry, a simple classic fraud. They offer multiply your money, the sound of the money blind you and....ale  hopp, you finish loosing it. By the way, all is legal, there are no promises, only hopes, but without any base except your need to believe that this training is the end of your troubles (and normally is the start of biggers ones)


Why can we be sure? because we are a group of students that, during March 2012 were ripped off by This school. Sorry, we were not ripped-off, all is legal. It is more correct to say that were our fault, the ambition and so on.
We were 16 people. Today, 2 months after, no body of us get a job related with the training. One of us had an offer. 18 american dollars before tax/hour if you work 12 hours 2 weeks on, 2 off is $18x12hoursx7daysx 26 weeks= 39312 american $ before taxes. Do you think that is not too much?? Anyway, the others did'nt have any offer.


But this is not the point. The point is that Maritime drilling school is playing with your hopes, your needs and your ambitions. More you need the money, more you need to believe that  it is truth, but more you need the money, harder will be the day after, when you'll realize that you lost 20 days and 5000 buks...

The problem, my dear reader is that in this fairy tale, the frog finish as a frog, and the next frog could be YOU.

Advice Part 4: Don't Work in Oil & Gas

One thing I learned during my time at Maritime Drilling Schools was that perhaps a career in the oil and gas industry wasn't the best choice out there for me (and perhaps for others in my shoes). You see in Canada most of the oil jobs are found in the Alberta Oil Sands...this means that there is not much drilling going on up there, mostly it is mining (that, and other processes, are used to extract the oil). I started digging a bit more to find out about possible opportunities in and around Fort McMurray and found that if you are a heavy equipment operator you'll able to get a job...fast.

So there I was halfway through my MDS course and I was thinking: did I just fuck up? I already started looking for jobs in oil and gas and was coming up short...when you send out countless emails and you either not get a response or if you did it is of the negative kind...you start to worry. I just bet on the wrong horse.

I started to do some research about heavy equipment operator training courses (you need the certs to get the job) and found many schools all across Canada. I narrowed my search to two:

• Transport Training Centres of Canada

• Interior Heavy Equipment Operator School

The above two schools are, I think, the best of the bunch. Sure, the courses are expensive, but if you train on only one piece of equipment it will cost you almost the same as doing the Maritime Drilling Schools course. Also, if you are Canadian and been unemployed for a certain amount of time, the government will pay for the training. Finally, these schools are SO confident that you'll be working as soon as you complete the course, they will give you a loan in case you can't pay it all in one go. This is something Reg MacDonald and Maritime Drilling Schools don't offer...so what does that tell you about Reg and his belief you will be working in oil and gas? I'll let you decide on the answer to that one.

Here is some info from the emails I exchanged with IHE (Interior Heavy Equipment) School:

"The job prospects are very good, we have a 90% success rate within the 3 months that we as a school have held consistently since the beginning of our school in 2005. Last month we had Sureway Construction come to the site and hire 11 graduating students on their day of graduation."

Heck, even Reggie cannot guarantee the above! Hell, he does not even have enough power or contacts or both to invite drilling companies to his school to help out the students with jobs.

Finally, one last thing. These courses are also quite long; therefore, one needs accommodation while taking the course. Let me remind you again in case you forgot:

• It costs $800 to stay at the MacDonald house while training at Maritime Drilling Schools for 20 days!

Now here is a screenshot from information packet from the IHE (Interior Heavy Equipment) School:

 

As you can clearly see they cooperate with hotels / B&B's around their training site and offer such amazing deals...$440 for the MONTH (not 20 days) with WIFI and laundry...I don't need to mention again that the MacDonald house neither has WIFI or laundry. Plus you get breakfast included...and tea or coffee...and snacks!

ALSO:

FREE PPE! Can you believe this? What does Reggie give you? Fucking NOTHING!

So before you jump into the oil and gas industry, think about doing a heavy equipment operator course instead. Training on one piece of equipment is enough...from what I hear the excavator is a great choice...lots of companies need excavator operators...and if you are a good worker I am sure they will train you on the rest so no need to spend more money. And if you don't want to work in Alberta (at the Oil Sands or elsewhere), there are always opportunities at the many mines around Canada, the US...and the world. Good luck!

Advice Part 3: The MacDonald House

If even after reading though the entire blog a couple of times you still want to attend the Maritime Drilling Schools training program, we have one important piece of advice: don't stay at the MacDonald House!

The cost for the 20 days is $800 and all you get is a bed, a pillow and a blanket. That is all. If you ask me...fucking expensive.

You WILL NOT have the following:

• INTERNET. There is no internet access in the house. None. When we mentioned this to Linda she said they will think about installing a connection...but I am guessing they say this to all the groups who go through the training. In one ear, out the other. You know, Reggie, some of us attend your training with the hopes of getting a job in the oil industry. While we are staying in North Sydney we want to begin sending our resumes and applying for jobs...kinda hard to do if there is no internet connection. How about you finally join the 21st century and hook the house up, eh? Or maybe you don't want us finding jobs? Is that true?

So where does one get WIFI? At the McDonald's about 15 minutes walk away from the house. The internet there is painfully slow and you need to buy shit to use it (but the place is open 24/7/365). So if you're a fan of McDonald's food you will be in love. If you're not...you're shit out of luck.

Then there is the public library, but the hours are erratic (make sure to check opening times). The upshot is that the WIFI is fast and they have public computers for those without laptops.

• WASHING MACHINE & DRYER. If you want to wash your clothes there is a public laundromat about 10 minutes away from the house. Costs about $8 to get your clothes washed (per load). You can add $3 and have the ladies who work there do it for you if you're lazy. How hard would it be to get a washing machine in the house? $800 for 20 days and no washing machine. Nice.

So what are the alternatives?

One of the guys said there are locals willing to rent out basements (fully furnished with private bathrooms and WIFI internet) for about $500 for the 20 days. One can also search out more info here (lots of short term rentals available):

Kijiji Cape Breton Classifieds

And if you are coming with friends, even better. Sharing an apartment with all amenities will cost less than staying at the MacDonald House.

Finally if you do want to stay at the MacDonald House, make sure you are the first to book your seat for the training...this way you will get the ONE and ONLY private room. All the other rooms sleep between 2 to 4 people on VERY small beds (if you are tall or big or both you WILL NOT be comfortable).

Random Pictures of Maritime Drilling Schools

Just to show a bit more through images and not words, here are some interesting pictures from the school as well as the MacDonald House where we stayed for 20 days. Enjoy!

The kitchen. One fridge, one stove shared between 14 people. Fun.

No alcohol at the MacDonald House? Yeah, right! Have you met a Roughneck who didn't drink?

The MacDonald House from the street. Nice, eh? Yeah, not so much...

The Wall. Hey, Reggie, your CAODC plaque has expired!

Forklift used for training...with indoor tires...used outside. Even Carla felt shame as she explained the shortcomings of this piece of ancient equipment.

Really, Reggie, no cash to upgrade the fucking tires?

Advice Part 2: Alternatives to Maritime Drilling Schools

During my training session we had people from all over...from the US, Europe, Far East and Canada. When we got to talking and the reasons for ending up in North Sydney for the 20 day MDS training, most of us agreed that we didn't see many alternative schools offering what MDS offers. But after completing the course, I decided to do a bit more in depth research and find out if that was really true.

You see most of us got blindsided by the sheer amount of certifications we would receive at the end of the 20 days of training. There is a total of 12 certificates which look good on a resume, no doubt, but at the end of the day are all of these certificates really needed to get jobs in oil and gas? I took it upon myself to find out. And my conclusions were interesting to say the least.

The most important certificates offered by Maritime Drilling Schools are those accredited by IADC or provided by third party training companies like Enform (the brilliant Terry did our H2S training and he is employed by Enform out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada) or St. John Ambulance (even though it is geared more towards everyday First Aid it is still good to have on the resume). To summarize, these are the most important certificates offered by MDS:

• IADC WellCAP
• IADC HSE RigPASS
• Enform H2S Alive
• St. John Ambulance First Aid & CPR

What about the other 8 certificates? Well...unfortunately they are not really geared towards the oil and gas industry (except the Pre-Employment Floorman Certificate). This is because Carla, who does the training, has zero experience working in the oil patch. She told us her experience lies in the construction industry...go figure. Good on you to hire a competent person (wink wink, nudge nudge) Reggie!

So really, there is no point in training at MDS. You can do the training courses above elsewhere and save a bunch of money in the process. Here is a list of schools offering the 4 certificate courses:

1. Aberdeen Drilling Schools
2. Petroed
3. IWCF Canada
4. Petrofac Training
5. PTTCO Bangkok Thailand
6. Atlantic Petroleum Training College
7. Murchison Drilling School
8. Canadian Drilling School
9. Malaga Drilling School

So if you want to get training remember this: YOU ONLY NEED THE 4 CERTIFICATES LISTED ABOVE (THE FIRST AID & CPR COURSE IS OPTIONAL). No need for more. There are also guys getting jobs at entry-level positions without any certifications, but I am a firm believer that a bit of training goes a long way...especially if you want to climb the ladder and move up on the rig (as opposed to working as a Roughneck for the rest of your life).

Finally, if you are working in the oil and gas industry and want to get promoted, I suggest you also complete the IWCF drilling course (supervisory level) as it will increase your chances of getting a Driller position with one of the big companies. The above schools offer IWCF training. And if money is no object and further training is of paramount importance, it wouldn't hurt to invest in the WellCAP Plus course from IADC...it also looks pretty good on a resume.

TO SUM UP: The 4 courses above will cost, in total, less than $1000 and take a matter of few days to complete. Trust me, the time and money saved are worth it. There is nothing that Carla can teach that makes it worth to stick around for another 2 weeks in North Sydney (unless you like to inflict pain on yourself).

If I could go back in time knowing what I know today, I would have done all the courses elsewhere.