- Environmental, Regulatory and Stakeholder Engagement
- Environmental Technician
- NOC #2231
Environmental Technician
The river is your office. The forest is your cubicle. The sky is your workstation. You bring the world around you to engineers and scientists in the office. You monitor and test natural habitats to understand, measure and remediate any industry impacts. Do you love being outdoors? Do you want to improve emissions and the environment? Do you enjoy getting your hands dirty? If so, you may want to consider a career as an environmental technician.
Environmental technicians undertake field or laboratory activities to investigate, monitor and remediate sites where the presence of hydrocarbons (e.g., diesel, gasoline, crude oil), salts or metals may have impacted soil, air and/or water quality. They may also undertake similar activities in non-hydrocarbon related sites. They are actively involved at the planning stages of projects by providing environmental information regarding existing soil, air and water quality conditions. This occupation also contributes to surveys and monitoring programs of the environment to identify potential impacts. This role tends to be heavily focused on prevention and abatement.
Environmental technicians carry out field work and operate equipment and devices used in monitoring, prevention control and remediation of environmental conditions. They develop plans to restore conditions under the direction of engineering staff or consultants. Staying current with technology is important as this field is highly technology-based with advancements occurring frequently.
A thorough working knowledge of acts and regulations may be required to ensure employee safety and environmental protection regulatory compliance.
I'm interested in a career in
- Sub-sector Exploration and production, Offshore, Oil and gas services, Oil sands
- Environment Primarily outdoor work
- Average Salary $40,000 to $108,000
- Education Post-secondary diploma
- Career Demand Growing
In this occupation activities may include:
- Understanding and applying the relevant regulatory requirements for site applications
- Carrying out field work (e.g. groundwater monitoring and soil sampling)
- Providing technical assistance to operations on environmental issues and activities requiring regulatory consultation
- Evaluating and selecting technologies to clean up polluted sites, restore polluted air, water, or soil, or rehabilitate degraded ecosystems
- Staying current on the acts and regulations that govern employee health and safety and environmental protection
- Detecting, measuring, reporting on-site emissions and conducting processes to reduce leaks and emissions
Education
- A two-year post-secondary diploma is typically required for a technician role. A post-secondary diploma or degree in environmental, geoscience technology or health and safety may be required by some companies to advance to a technologist role.
Certification
- Standard and emergency first aid
- Respirator fit testing
- Construction Safety Training System (CSTS)
- Pipeline Construction Safety Training (PCST)
- H2S Alive®
- Asbestos safety
- Fall protection
- Confined space entry
- Aerial lift training
- Transportation of dangerous goods (TDG)
- Ground disturbance
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
- Traffic control
Licensing
- In Quebec, membership in the regulatory body for professional technologists is required to use the title Professional Technologist.
- To become a Certified Engineering Technician, a period of supervised work experience, usually two years, is required
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas inlcude:
- Travel likely required
- Shiftwork/variable work hours
- Primarily outdoor work
- Physical work
- Safety-sensitive environment
- Work away from home/in camps
You are proficient in math and can use computers. You stay up to date with current technologies. You have strong critical thinking skills and are a member of a team, so you have excellent communication and strong interpersonal skills.
- Active listening
- Document use
- Public safety and security
- Collaborative
- Law and government
- Quality control analysis
- Judgment and decision making
- Complex problem solving
- Planning and organizing
- Troubleshooting
- Sub-sector Carbon capture, utilization and storage, Emissions reduction, Well site decommissioning
- Environment Primarily outdoor work
- Average Salary Equal to oil and gas
- Education Post-secondary diploma
- Career Demand Growing
- Skills Upgrading None
-
Direct
The skills gained as an environmental technician in oil and natural gas are directly transferable to the well site decommissioning sub-sector of cleantech. A worker considering a career change to the CCUS and emissions reduction sub-sectors may need to complete some minor upskilling, including gaining knowledge of the regulatory environment, emissions detection and measurement processes and equipment.
In addition to the activities below, other activities in cleantech may include:
- Detecting, measuring, reporting on-site emissions and conducting processes to reduce leaks and emissions. (emissions reduction)
- Monitoring storage sites during and after injection to track how CO2 is behaving. (emissions reduction)
- Using MMV equipment and completing related procedures. (emissions reduction)
- Detecting and tracking any changes in subsurface pressure or concentration. (emissions reduction)
In this occupation activities may include:
- Understanding and applying the relevant regulatory requirements for site applications
- Carrying out field work (e.g. groundwater monitoring and soil sampling)
- Providing technical assistance to operations on environmental issues and activities requiring regulatory consultation
- Evaluating and selecting technologies to clean up polluted sites, restore polluted air, water, or soil, or rehabilitate degraded ecosystems
- Staying current on the acts and regulations that govern employee health and safety and environmental protection
- Detecting, measuring, reporting on-site emissions and conducting processes to reduce leaks and emissions
Education
- A two-year post-secondary diploma is typically required for a technician role. A post-secondary diploma or degree in environmental, geoscience technology or health and safety may be required by some companies to advance to a technologist role.
Certification
- Standard and emergency first aid
- Respirator fit testing
- Construction Safety Training System (CSTS)
- Pipeline Construction Safety Training (PCST)
- H2S Alive®
- Asbestos safety
- Fall protection
- Confined space entry
- Aerial lift training
- Transportation of dangerous goods (TDG)
- Ground disturbance
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
- Traffic control
Licensing
- In Quebec, membership in the regulatory body for professional technologists is required to use the title Professional Technologist.
- To become a Certified Engineering Technician, a period of supervised work experience, usually two years, is required
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to cleantech include:
- Shiftwork/variable work hours (emissions reduction | well site decommissioning)
- Travel required (emissions reduction | well site decommissioning)
- Work away from home/in camps (well site decommissioning)
- Primarily outdoor work (well site decommissioning)
- Primarily indoor/office work (CCUS)
- Physical work (CCUS | well site decommissioning)
- Temporary/project-to-project work (emissions reduction | well site decommissioning)
- Freelance/contract opportunities (emissions reduction | well site decommissioning)
- Lower-risk tolerant culture (CCUS | emissions reduction | well site decommissioning)
- Safety-sensitive environment (emissions reduction | well site decommissioning)
- Transition to a similar level (CCUS | emissions reduction | well site decommissioning)
- Career development fostered/supported (CCUS)
- Rural location (CCUS | well site decommissioning)
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas inlcude:
- Travel likely required
- Shiftwork/variable work hours
- Primarily outdoor work
- Physical work
- Safety-sensitive environment
- Work away from home/in camps
You are proficient in math and can use computers. You stay up to date with current technologies. You have strong critical thinking skills and are a member of a team, so you have excellent communication and strong interpersonal skills.
- Active listening
- Document use
- Public safety and security
- Collaborative
- Law and government
- Quality control analysis
- Judgment and decision making
- Complex problem solving
- Planning and organizing
- Troubleshooting
The cleantech sector is further divided into sub-sectors:
CCUS
- Transferability: Refocus
- Skills upgrade: Minor
Emissions reduction
- Transferability: Refocus
- Skills upgrade: Minor
Well site decommissioning
- Transferability: Direct
- Skills upgrade: None
What does this mean for workers?
Workers will find that the ease of a career change from oil and natural gas into cleantech may vary by sub-sector. There could be differences in the need to upskill, gain knowledge and experience and varying work environments. Further research on the sector or consultation with a career advisor may be required.
- Sub-sector Geothermal
- Environment Primarily outdoor work
- Average Salary Equal to oil and gas
- Education Post-secondary diploma
- Career Demand Growing
- Skills Upgrading None
-
Direct
Congratulations! The skills gained as an environmental technician in oil and natural gas are directly transferable to the geothermal sub-sector of renewables.
In this occupation activities may include:
- Understanding and applying the relevant regulatory requirements for site applications
- Carrying out field work (e.g. groundwater monitoring and soil sampling)
- Providing technical assistance to operations on environmental issues and activities requiring regulatory consultation
- Evaluating and selecting technologies to clean up polluted sites, restore polluted air, water, or soil, or rehabilitate degraded ecosystems
- Staying current on the acts and regulations that govern employee health and safety and environmental protection
- Detecting, measuring, reporting on-site emissions and conducting processes to reduce leaks and emissions
Education
- A two-year post-secondary diploma is typically required for a technician role. A post-secondary diploma or degree in environmental, geoscience technology or health and safety may be required by some companies to advance to a technologist role.
Certification
- Standard and emergency first aid
- Respirator fit testing
- Construction Safety Training System (CSTS)
- Pipeline Construction Safety Training (PCST)
- H2S Alive®
- Asbestos safety
- Fall protection
- Confined space entry
- Aerial lift training
- Transportation of dangerous goods (TDG)
- Ground disturbance
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
- Traffic control
Licensing
- In Quebec, membership in the regulatory body for professional technologists is required to use the title Professional Technologist.
- To become a Certified Engineering Technician, a period of supervised work experience, usually two years, is required
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to renewables include:
- Shiftwork/variable work hours (geothermal)
- Travel required (geothermal)
- Primarily outdoor work (geothermal)
- Physical work (geothermal)
- Temporary/project-to-project work (geothermal)
- Freelance/contract opportunities (geothermal)
- Lower-risk tolerant culture (geothermal)
- Safety-sensitive environment (geothermal)
- Transition to a similar level (geothermal)
- Rural location (geothermal)
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas inlcude:
- Travel likely required
- Shiftwork/variable work hours
- Primarily outdoor work
- Physical work
- Safety-sensitive environment
- Work away from home/in camps
You are proficient in math and can use computers. You stay up to date with current technologies. You have strong critical thinking skills and are a member of a team, so you have excellent communication and strong interpersonal skills.
- Active listening
- Document use
- Public safety and security
- Collaborative
- Law and government
- Quality control analysis
- Judgment and decision making
- Complex problem solving
- Planning and organizing
- Troubleshooting
- Environment Primarily outdoor work
- Average Salary Equal to oil and gas
- Education Post-secondary diploma
- Career Demand Growing
- Skills Upgrading None
-
Direct
Good news! The skills gained as an environmental technician in oil and natural gas are directly transferable to the petrochemicals and refining sector.
In this occupation activities may include:
- Understanding and applying the relevant regulatory requirements for site applications
- Carrying out field work (e.g. groundwater monitoring and soil sampling)
- Providing technical assistance to operations on environmental issues and activities requiring regulatory consultation
- Evaluating and selecting technologies to clean up polluted sites, restore polluted air, water, or soil, or rehabilitate degraded ecosystems
- Staying current on the acts and regulations that govern employee health and safety and environmental protection
- Detecting, measuring, reporting on-site emissions and conducting processes to reduce leaks and emissions
Education
- A two-year post-secondary diploma is typically required for a technician role. A post-secondary diploma or degree in environmental, geoscience technology or health and safety may be required by some companies to advance to a technologist role.
Certification
- Standard and emergency first aid
- Respirator fit testing
- Construction Safety Training System (CSTS)
- Pipeline Construction Safety Training (PCST)
- H2S Alive®
- Asbestos safety
- Fall protection
- Confined space entry
- Aerial lift training
- Transportation of dangerous goods (TDG)
- Ground disturbance
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
- Traffic control
Licensing
- In Quebec, membership in the regulatory body for professional technologists is required to use the title Professional Technologist.
- To become a Certified Engineering Technician, a period of supervised work experience, usually two years, is required
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to petrochemicals and refining include:
- Potential for relocation
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Lower-risk tolerant culture
- Safety-sensitive environment
- Transition to a similar level
- Career development fostered/supported
- Rural location
- Potentially unionized
Nature of work and environment conditions specific to oil and natural gas inlcude:
- Travel likely required
- Shiftwork/variable work hours
- Primarily outdoor work
- Physical work
- Safety-sensitive environment
- Work away from home/in camps
You are proficient in math and can use computers. You stay up to date with current technologies. You have strong critical thinking skills and are a member of a team, so you have excellent communication and strong interpersonal skills.
- Active listening
- Document use
- Public safety and security
- Collaborative
- Law and government
- Quality control analysis
- Judgment and decision making
- Complex problem solving
- Planning and organizing
- Troubleshooting
