President's Notebook
APEGA
GLOBALIZATION DOES NOT GO IN ONE DIRECTION. WITHIN THIS EXCHANGE LIES OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR EXPERTISE ON THE WORLD STAGE.
developing technology for our future energy needs and to take on climate change. While Alberta was busy developing its resources, other areas of our technical advancement were not dormant. Flip through any edition of The PEG to see the great things our members are up to on the R&D front. Alberta researchers are involved in everything from smart cars to biomedical maximization, from satellite development to robotics. Not only do we have the expertise and the regulatory framework, we also have the people. Including members-in-training, Alberta has a talent pool of more than 70,000 engineers and geoscientists. In and around Calgary, my home city, we have the highest concentration anywhere of engineers and geoscientists for the energy sector. There are nine engineers per 1,000 people in metro Houston, the recognized energy capital of the world. Yet there are 33 engineers per 1,000 people in Calgary. Most of Canada’s geoscientists live in and around my city. Many of these professionals were attracted to Alberta by the energy sector. For much of our membership, the economic downturn has been devastating. Production caps are now looming and our shipping capacity continues to face barriers. Even though Alberta’s economy has recovered somewhat from the 2015 downturn, our membership is not as close to full employment as it once was. The world has changed. While other sources of energy will be found and developed, there will be a greater need for innovation in the extraction and processing of petroleum resources. There are many
Over the last several decades, Alberta has attracted some of the best engineering and geoscience talent from around the world and across Canada, to help build our energy sector. I submit that this level of engineering and geoscience prowess positions us to become an engineering and geoscience capital for the world. A Silicon Valley of sorts, but this one built on
WINTER 2018 PEG | 5
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