People are key

With the skills shortage in the industry biting, O&G speaks with Graeme Slaven, Director of Corporate and Institutional relations at Simprentis about how to tackle it.

O&G. In your opinion what needs to be done to address the serious lack of skilled and qualified engineers in the oil and gas industry today?
GS. There is a general drift away from the science disciplines among young people today and this is evident in our Universities. The talent pool potential is shrinking and the industry needs to compete for that talent with many other sectors. We obviously need to ensure we get good graduates with solid grounding in the theoretical side, but there should be much more emphasis on the outcomes, on the decision making process, how it all links to the business, how to achieve returns on investment and to show how rewarding a career choice it all really can be. Delivering and processing hydrocarbons is probably the most dynamic and technology driven industry today. So there needs to be realignment in University programmes so we create practitioners who have the fuller perspective of the business.

This is of course happening; there is a growing emphasis on the business of engineering, but we need to achieve a better, more comprehensive blend in the curriculum. This then needs to be reinforced through good graduate development programmes. And by and large there are some excellent programmes open to successful graduates. For the companies who have continuously to attract talent into their business, the message has to be about the excitement, the challenges and the rewards, but it also has to be in a language young people can relate to, aligned with a clear vision for what is ahead of them.

O&G. What is the knock-on effect of this shortage for the oil and gas companies, especially when production is set to rocket in the next few years due to the world’s emerging economies and our increased consumption?
GS. In addition to the recruitment challenge, an additional main effect is on staff retention. There is a movement of people within the industry and there is evidence of ‘poaching’ and ‘touting’. Labour costs are being driven up salary expectations as high as they ever have been. Things are becoming highly competitive. When you have such movement within the industry, you also lose consistency and projects will slip, pressure will mount and mistakes will be made. Without the people to deliver the projects and bring on the production, there inevitable will be more reliance on foreign labour from non-oil countries, large graduate pools or from non-oil industry. While the oil and industry has more latterly been culturally diverse, integrating engineers from outside the industry has its challenges and pulls on resources, cost and time.

O&G. How has the training of staff improved over the years, especially with health and safety legislation being so strict in the industry?
GS. I’d say there are two factors underpinning improvement. One is that clients are taking more care in the actual definition of training needs, specification of programme content, a clear understanding of the deliverables and learning outcomes and how they procure the services of the providers. The other is that training and educational providers today have a much better understanding of their clients business and their clients needs: they are now much more experienced and sophisticated in their offer, providing better quality training overall and they are paying closer attention to the needs and expectation of the trainees.

This latter point is something that I passionately feel the industry should address better – ultimately we are working with behaviours. Training should be about an experience, an engaging, worthwhile experience where the trainees and trainer work as a team to get the most out of the valuable time the company allocates (often in direct competition with operational demands). The traditional perception of health and safety training is that it is dull and procedural. A lot has been done to adopt strategies in HSE training so that behavioural and attitudinal differences are transferred to the work place and where there is tangible and observable emphasis on working safely, together as a team, being aware of the hazards and for the workforce competencies to be assured. Sometimes, I say to trainees that the companies working in oil and gas should regard themselves as much in the business of HSE as they are in hydrocarbons. Of course many already do, which is good.

O&G. What are the key HR challenges you face when it comes to a sector which spans the four corners of the globe?
GS. There are two dimensions to this question. As a training organization, Simprentis has its own HR issues to deal with. There must be effective lines of communication with the client and the recipients of the training: this is key. Technology has a fundamental role and should be used to help bridge gaps where possible. For this we mean learning technologies, methods and approaches. Systems and processes must be clear and consistent, so logistics are important. Cultural differences are a significant influencing factor and a lot of attention has to be paid to sensitivities, whether they be religious, gender or ethnic in nature. Travel and its associated headaches is a constant challenge as is security: at all time our people must be safe.

On the industry side, the main challenge we see is in standards, especially where competencies are being measured. As the industry changes, with more emphasis on national companies, then we have to find ways to understand how standards can be balanced with the national conditions. This of courses is not a simple as it sounds. There are many reasons why a country might wish to develop and impose its own standards of assurance and certification. However, the systems we have established in the UK are known for thoroughness and robustness. We have learned from our mistakes and these lessons are often integrated into our systems and we should be only too happy to share this with our international and national partners.

O&G. Tell me a bit about the solutions that you provide, including your training courses. What do the participants get out of it?
GS. As a provider, Simprentis’s primary mission is to deliver engaging learning experiences. Our method, simply, is to put energy into learning, to stress the importance of learning, to help each trainee make the most of themselves and of the opportunity they have been given to improve their skills and knowledge and, last, but not least, to feel they are adding value to their company and to the industry overall. Within our unique OilSim range of products we also encourage and use group training, where creating a co-operative dynamic facilitates the actual knowledge uptake and enhances the experience. So our aim is to ensure the participants leave a Simprentis training course or learning event fulfilled, more accomplished, better prepared for the professional challenges they face in line with their, our clients and our own expectations for high quality of service and positive impact on the future business. Finally, we want them to enjoy their experience with us and to create a lasting impression.

Graeme Slaven is Director of Corporate & Institutional Relations at Simprentis, whom he joined in March 2007. After 10 years working in the oil and gas industry, predominantly in the North Sea, Slaven undertook an MA in Psychology from the University of Aberdeen, graduating in 1993. After seven years in the School of Architecture in The Robert Gordon University, he was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship in environmental psychology. In 2000, Graeme joined Univation, the commercial training company of RGU.

He has worked extensively in China, Russia and Latin America and had some notable business achievements including the award of a contract to RGU from PDVSA worth $15 million. He is an advisor to UKTI on training and education within the oil and gas industry.