Prior to the crash in oil prices a couple of years ago, companies in the oil and gas industry were already experiencing a talent shortage amongst highly technical professionals due to large number of employees set to retire in the next 15 years. The current oil and gas downturn have also led to a dramatic drop in the number of professionals entering the industry, especially amongst recent graduates, which is further multiplying the problem. According to a study completed at Texas Tech University, this year the nation’s 22 petroleum engineering programs enrolled nearly 2,000 seniors—roughly 1,800 fewer than in 2016. Further, more than 4,500 U.S. undergraduates were pursuing petroleum engineering degrees in 2019, which was down 60 percent from three years ago. Many non-energy specific employees like information technology and finance and accounting have moved to other industries (healthcare, aerospace, etc.) that are not as susceptible to economic down swings. These factors combined with the growing number of retirees over the next 10 to 15 years will leave the oil and gas industry with a deep talent shortage.
This talent gap has forced oil and gas companies to rethink their talent attraction and retention strategies. To combat the lack of industry specific talent, companies must be willing to change their approach to hiring. Focusing on their recruiting and mentoring strategies will help bridge the gap and help these companies remain competitive as the oil and gas sector remerges from the current downturn.
Here are some ideas on how to do that:
1. Focus on campus recruiting. It will be more important than ever to hire and groom younger professional to bridge the knowledge gap.
2. Companies should look to nontraditional candidate pools from other industries with complimentary skillsets such as engineers from aerospace or manufacturing. This will cut the learning curve and bring them up to speed faster.
3. Continue to develop strong employee centric cultures that foster openness and the opportunity to work on new and exciting technologies and projects. Traditionally, compensation was the main motivator for most employees, but many recent studies have shown that non-compensation factors and employee culture are becoming increasingly if not more important than compensation.
4. Focus on the candidate experience throughout the hiring process. The way a candidate is treated throughout the recruiting and on-boarding process can have a monumental impact on their decision to come on board with your firm.
To see how Ncite Partners can help your energy company modernize its recruiting strategy, you can reach me directly at corey.walker@ncitepartners.com
