You might want to take the PITS training course,thats petroleum institute training system,if your on EI they will pay for the courses which last up two weeks,they cover every ticket you need to work on the rigs or in a plant where sour gas is processed.You can do a lot of your courses online also except confined spaces,h2s and a few others.
I'm not a rig pig myself but work for about a dozen energy companies here and there.
I was in the field at cold lake this spring when things came to a halt,even the Encanna guys were surprised how fast wells were getting scrubbed,pipelines that were welded and ready to go in the ground in other places was being cut up and hauled away.They have a few wells being drilled but just to keep some guys and gals busy.
As a juinor pipeline inspector I was one of the first to be let go this spring and have seen nothing but guys sitting or going to Sask to work.
As for work in the patch,about 90% or more of the jobs are had by word of mouth,when the big outfits are hiring they will advertise on the HRDC site or calgary and Edmonton sun.
Once you get into the industry for a few years you build up a good group of contacts and things get easier as you go.
I dont expect things to pick up much untill next year,I hope i'm wrong.