i should have mentioned in my case, that the alberta market is on a boom with the electrical trade being the highest in demand..the "head" electricians for local companies i was told by my guy get together each morning for breakfast and discuss who may have time to take on a job and are sharing leads between them..that's how crazy it is..took me 6 weeks to find an electrician who had the time to do the job! (for all of 5 hours work)

the tech school in calgary has electrical companies lined up who are making the following offer to incoming students for the apprentice course. they will pay their room/board and pay them 18 per hour x 8 hours to go to school. no strings attached (no contract to sign) when they are finished but the company gets first shot to make them a work offer when they complete the course. unprecedented. the story also goes that in oil country in northern alberta, journeyman electricians contracting their services are making up to 300,000 per year (versus 3 years ago when the average was 80,000)

a guy who graduated from the local community college heavy duty mechanic program (and is the poster child for the college) took a job in the oil industry up north that started at 250,000 per year..no experience, top student in the class. he is 19 years old.