Guest Contributor
Trending

Employment Characteristics for the Oil and Gas Sector

By | Elaine Bennett

The oil and gas industry has a rather specific set of characteristics that impact the employment process. Almost all industries across the world have faced numerous challenges during the pandemic and are still facing new challenges due to the emerging economic difficulties. However, the oil and gas industry has been influenced by these challenges in a much more specific way, because of the very nature of this industry. This has largely impacted the employment characteristics. Here is an overview of how the employment characteristics have changed for the oil and gas sector.

The importance of apprenticeships

The Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have brought about many amazing benefits, but have also impacted the layout of the workforce in a major way, and the requirement to be extremely technically proficient with the use of the new technology is the key factor. There is in fact a large skill gap, and additional training is needed. Unfortunately, the on-job training sessions are a rarity and the problem has to be handled in order to minimize the gap with the upcoming generations. That is where the value of implementing apprenticeships truly shines. These programs are developed in order to reduce this skill gap which is necessary for gaining full-time employment. A good approach to take in order to reinforce the implementation of these valuable courses is to double down on talent acquisition teams which will be able to make good hiring strategies for newly graduated university students. This way you are more likely to have the right people for the apprenticeship in the first place, which will yield long-term success. 

Data assisted employment

The truth is that in most cases it is the veteran professionals in the oil and gas industry that have all of the necessary skills. Sometimes, they are even brought back to work from retirement, to work as contractors. The key is to standardize their skillsets and then actively screen for those skills during new hiring waves. The IoT technology widely relies on using sensors to improve the overall workplace efficiency. In addition, it registers all of this data which can be used to make better decisions and develop better hiring strategies based on the recorded competencies. This helps to setup a good reference point for the skills needed in order to work efficiently in this field. 

Better safety procedures

In order to have a high rate of employee retention and satisfaction it is essential to establish high safety standards. This helps to reduce workplace related injuries, accidents, poisoning and even fatal cases, and all of that helps to reduce work-induced stress. So ultimately, you are creating a positive loop, where everyone can thrive. The newly IoT acquired data helps to reveal safety risks and allows the management to thoroughly assess and put new strategies and safety regulations in place. For instance, in the oil and gas industry it is essential to use high quality oilfield equipment, which allows to handle even the most difficult challenges without putting your workers at risk that usually comes from using old and faulty equipment. 

More remote work

The oil and gas industry was no exception to the challenges which came about with the global COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most notable changes was the increase of remote work. The newly adopted method of working has stuck around with some workers, as they may feel unsafe to come back to work and work in full capacity face-to-face with other colleagues. This is a challenge for the human resources departments. This means that new policies and strategies are a must. Luckily, this opens up many new possibilities as well, such as more hiring and recruitment options in order to look for talented individuals globally, who will be the perfect match. 

Better management and leadership skills

It has become of crucial value to develop a good onboarding experience, as this has been shown to increase employee retention and satisfaction. A good initial onboarding experience will encourage young professionals to contribute to their work in the best way possible while building great relationships with their more experienced coworkers. That is why investing some time and effort into providing more management and leadership training goes a long way towards creating a self-sustaining workplace culture. This is especially valuable if you factor in the growing diversity in the workplace which stems from remote hiring, with people coming in from all around the world. 

The oil and gas industry is definitely going through dramatic changes, and in order to optimize for performance it is necessary to consider a couple key characteristics of the newly-changed hiring protocols; the importance of apprenticeships, how data can help to look for the right skills during the hiring process, ensuring higher safety standards and employee retention, more remote work options and the value of better management and leadership skills.

Show More

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button