I can give you the view from the Northern Alberta oilsands. There is $50 billion of work announced for this area over the next 6 years with about $10 billion currently under construction and another $15 billion starting within the coming year.
The political situation in the Middle East means that the U.S. is looking more and more to secure oil supplies, and the oilsands is basically ground zero for petroleum development in North America. The recoverable reserves here (meaning what they can dig or boil out of the ground economically at today's prices with today's technology) is about 200 billion barrels, slightly less than
Saudi Arabia. Potential reserves are about 6 times all of the known or potential reserves of the entire Middle East. So long term there'll be ups and downs, but overall the trend is up.
The residential contractors in Fort McMurray can't find enough people to work for them. Houses are going up like mushrooms after a rainstorm, and it shows no sign of stopping.
My advice if you wanted to come to this area would be to try to find a residential contractor who would take you on as a starter, but make sure you get an honest contractor, not some sleazebag who'll dump you just before you're ready to start an apprenticeship. Be prepared for very high housing costs - among the highest in Canada at last count - and cold winters.
Build up some hours on the residential side, then if you want to get into the oilsands plants at industrial rate, hire on for commercial work with one of the shops that run both sides of the street - commercial non-union in town, industrial unionized at the plants
Hope that helps a bit.
Regards,
Brian
