The oil and gas industry is facing a significant loss of experienced workers due to retirement over the next 3-5 years. This "big crew change" threatens to leave companies with gaps in expertise unless more is done to attract new talent. Industry leaders recognize that STEM education is key, but many schools lack resources and teachers with proper STEM training. Companies are working to address this through partnerships with schools and investing in STEM and mentorship programs to help inspire more students to pursue careers in oil and gas.

1. Focus On STEM Education Key To Curbing The “Big Crew Change” | Midstream Business
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Jennifer Postel, Hart Energy March 14, 2013
As much of the energy sector’s seasoned workforce becomes retirement eligible, an impending
demographic crisis could impede the industry’s growth, leaving many executives in search of strategic
and innovative ways to bridge the subsequent experience gap.
“We need to attract and harness the right talent. All too often our industry is portrayed as low-tech,
out of date and part of the problem rather than being a part of the solution,” Saudi Arabian Oil Co.
(Saudi Aramco) president and chief executive Kalid Al-Falih said during a keynote address at the IHS
CERAWeek conference in Houston. “Indeed many people see us as a sunset industry. This is deeply
concerning as well as highly deceiving.”
With more than thirty years since the sector’s last employment push and a lull in hiring activity, the
industry is on the verge of losing more than 50% of its experienced workforce over the next 3-5
years. According to a 2011 Schlumberger HR survey, there is an expected outflow of 22,000 key
petrotechnical professionals from the beginning of 2012 to 2015 due to retirement. Before Al-Falih’s
address, a panel of industry executives gathered at the IHS CERAWeek conference to discuss the
steps their companies are taking to address the “big crew change.”
“This is a global phenomenon. It is affecting most industrial and technology businesses including the
E&P business and the skill shortage complicates things,” said James Tastard, human resources
director for Statoil Inc.’s North American operations. “There are forecasts of core technical and
leadership positions going out of the industry, and it is especially noticeable when you look at the age
of the baby boomers.”
As endeavors grow more complex and faster paced, the competition for talent increases; it becomes
imperative for oil and gas firms to retain and harness key personnel. But, unearthing talent with a high
level of expertise is difficult during this precarious time. Tastard said. New Bureau of Labor Statistics
data show that employment in STEM occupations is expected to expand faster than employment in
non-STEM occupations from 2010 to 2020. And, as demand for qualified STEM workers increases,
there is a smaller percentage of students are pursuing post-secondary STEM degrees.
“It’s not a people shortage, we have people throughout the world — young, talented and ambitious
people; they just don’t have the qualifications and or the education,” Tastard said. “Ageism is a global
problem; this is a global structural employment problem. We are faced with a young, inexperienced
workforce with limited or no STEM education and a high demand for blue-collar skilled trades.
“The new generation is a different generation. They are highly ambitious, highly motivated, they work
hard. They just work and learn differently,” he said.
What does Statoil do to combat this problem? According to Tastard, they focus on and work towards
diversity. According to Schlumberger’s 2011 HR survey, 27% of petrotechnical professionals in high
production growth companies are female. But, according to the report, only 14% of engineers are
women, and just 27% of individuals working in computer science and math positions are female. At
Statoil, 40% of the board of directors is female and the future of the business lies in the diversity of
gender, Tastard said.
Focus On STEM Education Key To Curbing The “Big Crew
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2. Focus On STEM Education Key To Curbing The “Big Crew Change” | Midstream Business
http://www.midstreambusiness.com/item/Focus-STEM-Education-Key-Curbing-Big-Crew-Change_113765[3/27/2013 1:24:09 PM]
“Thirty percent of all leadership positions globally are female. And, when you look at the graduating
classes in the U.S., Canada and Norway in life sciences, females make up 50% or higher,” he said.
“We [the oil and gas industry] need to focus on how we inspire and become role models in the
classroom.”
Tastard recommends companies make significant investments in STEM programs. Students without a
strong elementary and secondary math and science education are unprepared to train for careers in
the STEM field, according to a report by a U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, “STEM
Education: Preparing for the Jobs of the Future.” And this, the report said, can lead to a shortage of
STEM professionals.
“Science and technology curriculums are often thin in K-12 education, and may not be enough to
provide students with a solid foundation in STEM upon which to build,” the report said. “It is
challenging to attract and retain STEM-trained individuals to teach STEM subjects at the K-12 level…
While the quality of math and science teaching is the greatest factor in improving student
achievement in STEM fields, not enough K-12 math and science teachers have hands-on experience
working in STEM.”
Many teachers, the report said, lack the necessary background to teach STEM programs. According
to the National Science Foundation, 36% of middle school science teachers and 30% of middle
school math teachers lack STEM-field training. The industry needs to get involved, Tastard said. He
said that companies can partner with educational institutions to develop the learning programs that
can build the petrochemical and leadership skills that are much desired within the industry.
“We can bring programs into the classroom, we can bring real life excitement into the classroom,”
said Tastard. “However we cannot replace the elementary to post graduate experience. We need to
support it, we need do our part and we need to work as an industry.”
Along with breaking down educational barriers, mentoring programs are another avenue companies
can take to address the STEM participation and achievement gap.
“Having a mentor significantly influences students’ decisions to pursue STEM degrees and
occupations, especially for women and minorities,” said the U.S. Joint Congress STEM Education
report. “Further, those with more opportunities to engage in STEM-related activities, such as science
fairs, projects, and clubs, are more likely to go onto STEM careers and have accomplishments in
STEM fields.”
Both ConocoPhillips and Tailsman Energy Inc. sponsor and support a breadth of mentoring and
knowledge sharing programs. ConocoPhillips has flourishing mentoring and internship programs,
while Tailsman has developed its own in-house mentoring program for high-potential employees.
Both companies, along with Statoil, have found that mentoring not only benefits the student but
participating veteran employees welcome the chance to share the wealth of knowledge they have
developed over time.
“We find the most experienced employees want to share what they know with the next generation,”
said Sheila Feldman, vice president, human resources, ConocoPhillips. “Our interns tell us that it is
one of the most vital parts of their internship experience.”
The crew change is a serious challenge many in the industry are facing today. With less STEM
graduates and an increased completion for talent, the time has come for those in the oil and gas
industry to step up and make an investment in the future, Saudi Aramco’s Al-Falih said.

3. Focus On STEM Education Key To Curbing The “Big Crew Change” | Midstream Business
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“We need to spark the imagination of young people and show them the high-tech, complex and
exciting opportunities our industry has to offer,” he said. “We also need to develop and articulate our
societal contributions we constantly make. In other words, we should never stop investing in people,
no matter where they are.”
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