There simply aren’t enough young people entering the oil and gas workforce lately.
That’s what Neil Bradshaw, Petroplan’s head of permanent procurement for EMEA, told Rigzone, adding that “it’s going to be a real potential challenge in the coming years for companies in a global industry that has traditionally experienced challenges with the skills shortage.”
“In a recent study, 58 percent of millennials questioned said they would avoid working in a particular sector just because they believe it has a negative image, with oil and gas being considered the least attractive globally.” Bradshaw said.
“Over the past five years, the number of Petroleum Engineering graduates is reported to have declined by 83 percent. In addition, the University of Calgary and Imperial College London eliminated their Petroleum Engineering degrees and gas last year,” he added.
“In October of last year, Harvard and MIT had students disrupt campus recruiting events for ExxonMobil… in addition to three British universities that recently banned oil companies from attending their recruitment events recruitment…so, on the other hand, there is a faltering ability of the oil and gas companies to be able to ‘sell’ their space to the younger generation of candidates,” he continued.
Bradshaw also noted that “an unhelpful combination of the global pandemic and increased automation has led to reports that the oil and gas industry is experiencing a 20 percent decline in the workforce during the last six years.”
“This will also not be considered an attractive proposition for potential younger participants,” he added.
Brian Binke of Michigan’s The Birmingham Group, a construction and oil and gas specialist recruiter that is a subsidiary of Sanford Rose Associates, also told Rigzone that not enough young adults are entering the oil and gas industry.
“This could be because of a negative image many young adults have of fossil fuels,” Binke said.
“Young adults who are interested in the energy workforce tend to gravitate toward renewable energy because it’s the new ‘big thing.’ Oil and gas companies will face hiring problems in the future because many people currently in oil and gas wants to leave the industry,” he added.
“However, there are ways the oil and gas industry can attract the best talent, such as creating more flexible career paths, offering training and career development, or creating attractive benefits packages,” continued Binke.
When asked if there are enough young people currently entering the oil and gas workforce, Gladney B. Darroh, founder and president of Houston-based Piper-Morgan Search, said, “There will always be “enough” young people attracted to the oil and gas industry because the oil and gas companies (upstream/midstream/downstream) will always do what they have to do to attract them”.
“In terms of compensation, that means everything from market base wages, sign-on bonuses, annual bonuses, stock grants, increased 401k contributions, bonuses from retention and other creative forms of cash compensation, such as paying off student debt,” he added.
“From a professional point of view, it will mean more opportunities for training, mobility and career progression. In addition, to attract young people, energy companies will also better address quality of life issues such as work-life balance interests, childcare subsidy, generous maternity/paternity leave and paid time off to name a few,” Gladney continued.
In his response to Rigzone, Gladney said perhaps the biggest question is, in general, are young people “interested” in careers in the oil and gas industry today?
“The answer to that question is – not so much,” said Gladney.
“At marquee engineering schools like The Colorado School of Mines, for example, engineering students talk about alternative energy: solar, wind, geothermal, batteries,” he added.
“There’s excitement about alternative energy not only because it addresses their concerns about climate change, but also because it’s a nascent industry full of up-and-comers and up-and-coming careers that employ the latest and greatest technology. They see it as the future,” Gladney continued.
“Remember, these young people are exceptionally bright and many are the sons and daughters of petroleum engineers. They’ve seen enough of the extreme volatility of the oil and gas industry to not want to be a part of it,” he continued. pointing out.
Rigzone asked UK industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), US industry body the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) if there are enough young people currently entering the oil and gas workforce. At the time of writing, Rigzone has yet to receive a response to the question from OEUK, API or IOGP.
To contact the author, please send an email andreas.exarcheas@rigzone.com
