Those training in a career in the oil field now have a new tool to help them in their education. The Southeast College, based in Estevan, has announced a new Pump Jack Simulator for students.

"We originally wanted to install equipment such as this," explained Sheena Onrait, the manager of marketing and communications with the College, "so that we can have some hands-on activity and be able to show people when they come for courses here at the college, exactly what different piece and different parts are on the pump jack."

"So that's why it was really important to us to have something visual that students could go out and actually look at and touch and be able to see in person what the parts were instead of just trying to describe it or looking at it on a screen."

"It was designed and constructed by partners here in Estevan. It's a replicated pump jack so it looks very similar to what folks see when they're driving down the highway. It just doesn't actually pump anything out of the ground."

The benefits could be far reaching for the residents in the southeast corner of the province. 

"Anytime an opportunity comes where an employer can hire a worker that is at least trained in terminology and knows exactly what things look like and what the equipment looks like, it's a benefit to that employer. The program and the simulator were designed so that we could be able to help with that. So green workers that were coming in weren't necessarily green anymore. They maybe didn't have a lot of hands-on experience but they at least knew what they were looking for and what the equipment was called and some of the terminology associated with some of the work here in southeast Saskatchewan."