AIIM Student Feedback: Chad Rickaby, Petro Canada

I had an opportunity to talk with Chad Rickaby, a recent AIIM ECM Student, about his views on the AIIM Education Programs. Here is an excerpt of our conversation.

Bob: Chad, I want to thank you for allowing me to interview you and for the record, can you provide me with a description of your role at Petro Canada?

Chad: I am a member of the IS (Information Services) group whose focus is on the sustainment of applications after they have been turned over to us from our IS project group. Typically our group takes on support of an application during the final phases of roll out. Currently I provide second level support for a few different applications utilized by our Oil Sands Business Units Engineering and Information Management Teams with the bulk of my time supporting an ECM system with around 1200 users.

We anticipate that as the projects continue to grow we could see a peak of users sitting around the 3000 mark. Due to our ever changing needs I am also involved in initiatives to address a version upgrade of our current ECM platform and front end.

Bob: When did you get the idea to make AIIM Education part of your training focus and what were the drivers for the decision?

Chad: I have been an AIIM professional Member now for just over a year, and was introduced to the organization by a co-worker of mine from our East Coast Business Unit. I guess the light bulb went off to incorporate some AIIM training in my portfolio when I was looking through the ECM Toolkit provided as part of my professional membership. I could see that there was so much more to the world of Content Management than my current understanding of the concepts, and I felt I needed to better understand how other organizations within the industry viewed the management of information.

Bob: What do you see as a benefit for you and future attendees of these programs?

Chad: It is a professional goal of mine to become a subject matter expert in ECM systems and methodology within my company. I recognize that this can lead to excellent opportunities to be involved in corporate wide initiatives to consistantly manage information. My intent is to prepare myself to achieve that goal. I feel that by being trained by the industry leader in ECM, my goals are within reach. As for the benefit to future attendees, the AIIM certificate programs can help any individual in any circumstance within their organization. Not only do we learn the ways of implementing a new ECM system, but the training reinforces the need to constantly evaluate a company's utilization of the tools that they have for information management.

It is important to try and stay ahead of the curve in this industry, especially considering the fact that as the industry grows the options for ECM will continue to change and grow with it.

Bob: For the future, how do you see the role of AIIM education evolving in relation to your position or others in Petro Canada?

Chad: I personally feel that the training I have received is invaluable respective to my current position. It has afforded me the ability to network with industry professionals around the globe. By having access to such a broad perspective it puts me in a position to daily bring to the table industry best practices. As I perform the duties specific to my role I am confident that I have the tools needed to be efficient and effective at my job. Additionally due to the variance of courses offered by AIIM, I feel that should my role expand or change I have access to the training required to fulfill my duties.

At Petro-Canada we always strive to attract the most qualified individual for the job. As the industry builds I can see AIIM certification proving to be a very important asset within our organization. In fact since coming back from the training last week, I have spoken to some of my co-workers and suggested they too look into the training programs that AIIM provides. The more individuals that we have in our organization that are trained in ECM the better positioned we will be for the future.

Bob: I want to thank you for your support and for taking time to talk with me and share your views on AIIM Education with our readers.

Bob Larrivee - AIIM