Young people want to work in Oil and Gas E&P

The ‘Big Crew Change’ has been a topic of debate in the oil and gas industry for a number of years. The argument has been that the experienced people are retiring from the industry and there is not enough young talent coming through. There are suggestions that the industry is seen as old fashioned and in decline, in the eyes of the younger generation. However, the truth is that there are actually tens of thousands of people eager to start a career in the industry.

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) membership data has previously been quoted to reflect the age profile of the industry and the majority of its members are aged over 40, with only 12% under 30. This fits with the view about an aging workforce, however the Oilcareers.com website paints a different picture.

The Oilcareers database contains age and experience data for more than half a million men and women, who are either currently working in the oil and gas industry or are keen to make it a career. About a third of them are aged less than 30.

If you exclude those who have no experience, the Oilcareers age profile for the industry is still more positive than that indicated by the SPE data suggests.

"We probably have the largest database of people working in the oil and gas industry anywhere in the world," explains Oilcareers Managing Director Mark Guest. "The data we hold suggests that there are plenty of young people who want to make oil and gas exploration and production their career of choice. In fact the age group with the largest representation on our database is the 26 to 30 year olds, who have completed their degrees and are well qualified to take the industry forward."

There are some regional differences with the Oilcareers data, indicating a slightly older population profile for the industry in North America than in Europe and developing parts of the world.

"Regional variations suggest perhaps that some parts of the international oil and gas community have been better at promoting the industry as a career path than others," continues Mark Guest, "however even in North America the majority of our users are under 40 years of age."

Many industry bodies such as Oil and Gas UK in Britain have been active in promoting the industry in schools, colleges and universities over the past few years, but one factor that may not have been considered a few years back, when people began highlighting the challenges of the 'Big Crew Change' was the impact the Internet has had on communicating career opportunities in the oil and gas industry.

"Like many sectors much of oil and gas recruitment now starts online," says Mark Guest, "employers and employees meet on the Internet via job boards and company recruitment sites.

"The web means that more people now know about the attractions of working in the industry and that they can also see that oil and gas can provide their generation with a life-long career. We have seen the number of people visiting our site grow by 30% in the last 12 months alone and we now are now serving nearly 3.5 million unique users per annum."

The Internet is a key platform..