Your Rig Tech training will begin when you start working as a motorhand. It will give the training you need to advance in your career, from motorhand to derrickhand to driller.



The Rig Tech trade has three periods:
  • Rig Tech Level 1
  • Rig Tech Level 2
  • Rig Tech Level 3
For each period, an apprentice:
  • logs 1500 hours of on-the-job training in his record book; and
  • completes a 4-week technical training course.
Each Rig Tech level corresponds with one of the three senior rig crew occupations.

For instance, Level 1 technical training focuses on the skills and knowledge a motorhand needs. Level 2 technical training focuses on derrickhand work and Level 3 technical training on driller work.

However, an apprentice who is training at a specific level is not tied to working a specific occupation on a rig crew.

Think of the traditional rig crew structure as a ladder, the lowest rung is the leasehand position, the highest is the driller. Let's call this the occupation ladder.

When someone is working in a senior crew positions - motorhand, derrickhand and driller - s/he gets his training through the Rig Tech program.

However the Rig Tech program is a separate ladder, a training ladder. The lowest rung is Rig Tech 1, the highest Rig Tech 3.

On the training ladder, apprentices will always move up in sequence. From Rig Tech 1, they will go to Rig Tech 2 and then to Rig Tech 3.

On the occupation ladder, employees can move up or down. In slow times, experienced employees might work a junior position on a rig crew. For instance, a derrickhand might work motors. In busy times, employees with limited experience might have an opportunity to work a more senior position. An employee might work briefly as a motorhand before his employer identifies him as a capable team player who is ready to work derrick.

The distinction between two ladders is important because the Rig Tech regulations do not tie the occupation ladder to the training ladder.

When an apprentice is logging on-the-job training hours, he must work as a motorhand, derrickhand or driller. However, which of these positions he works in remains at the discretion of his supervisors and the needs of the rig. For instance, a Level 1 apprentice is not limited to working motors while logging Level 1 hours. If the employer feels this apprentice is ready for a derrickhand position, the employer has the option to promote the apprentice. The apprentice can complete his Level 1 OJT requirement by logging derrickhand hours.

Apprentices can work their way up the training ladder, while working whichever (senior) positions on the occupation ladder their employer requires of them.
(Of course, some employers may choose to be stricter than the regulation when signing off on an apprentice's hours)

Note: Leasehands, floorhands and rig managers are not part of the Rig Tech trade and therefore these hours cannot be counted toward OJT hours.