contentsIndustry Facing Gaping Hole: IGU
An aging oil and gas industry is causing a gaping hole that will require drastic action to source hundreds of thousands of technical professionals, the International Gas Union revealed ahead of its 4–8 June World Gas Conference (WGC) in Kuala Lumpur.
The oil and gas industry, particularly in Europe and North America, is facing many imminent retirements with the average age of 45 and over, leading to the IGU's warning that industry is competing for a limited pool of experienced professionals to secure its own future.
According to the IGU, which has more than 110 members worldwide and represents more than 95% of the world's gas market, the industry lacks both young and mid-career professionals in the whole value chain.
Hundreds of thousands of technical professionals, particularly in non-OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) markets, are needed to provide human resources to meet increasing global gas demand. The most sought-after technical skills are in engineering, construction, projects and operations.
"Human capital is the power that drives this industry forward. Tackling the talent crunch, addressing human capital issues and shaping the future direction of the global gas industry are amongst our strategic approaches to ensure the industry's sustainability", IGU President Datuk Dr Abdul Rahim Hashim said.
To this end, the IGU Malaysian Triennium for WGC 2012 has created Task Force 1 (TF1), "Building Strategic Human Capital", to deliver analyses of the key human talent issues impacting the gas industry and address what the industry can do to attract and retain talent and the role of governments and educational institutions in this.
TF1 has put a comprehensive program of surveys and interviews in place with energy industry experts and young professionals, and has initiated a collection of case studies on best practices and regional workshops with participation of companies from Asia, Europe, Middle East and Latin America.
The findings of TF1 will be presented at WGC2012 and will make recommendations, providing a qualitative overview of the future of the gas industry, the energy mix of the future and key selling points to attract talent in the face of competition from other industries.
TF1 Chairperson and Energiz Strategy Managing Director Ieda Gomes said that this will include restructuring reward packages, investment in brand, mentoring and consultancy opportunities, fast track development programs, expanding graduate opportunities, strategic partnerships with universities and governments, in-house and external training programs, using senior people as consultants and coaches and recruiting in skill rich markets.
