Hays Suggests Oil And Gas Employers Must Consider Other Skilled Workers To Fill Staff Shortfall
Released on: September 27, 2011, 3:33 pm
Author:
Hays
Industry:
Energy
Hays has reported that employers should start considering
employing people from other energy and engineering sectors if they are
to successfully fill the increasing number of jobs being generated in
the oil and gas industry in Scotland.
The comments come as the sector continues a steady recovery, generating a number of
new technical and engineering posts. However, there is currently a shortage of
people with the necessary skills and experience to fill the posts, caused partly by
the lure of better paid positions overseas, combined with a lack of new engineering
graduates.
According to Graeme Fyfe, director of Hays' Oil and Gas division in Scotland,
employers will need to compromise on non-essential aspects, take a much broader view
of their skills requirements and also ensure they have a long-term strategy to
address the issue with an investment in training and development.
"The good news is that energy projects that were previously on hold are now being
reinstated and offshore fields which reduced production are coming back online,"
said Fyfe. "But there is currently a serious shortage of people with the rights
skills and experience to fill the posts that are being generated. This applies
across the board, but the pinch point is in mechanical and project management roles.
Almost without exception, our clients are looking for skilled project engineers who
tend to be at the heart of any manufacturing process - but they simply aren't
available.
"There isn't time to train them or wait for the next influx of graduates, so in
the meantime employers should take a more strategic approach and consider if people
from other industry sectors could fulfil these jobs, albeit with some additional
learning. For example, we have recently placed a project manager from construction
into a manufacturing role in subsea systems and equipment. Another candidate with
experience in a heavy forged products environment has relocated to Aberdeen and is
now working for a company that manufactures offshore equipment.”
According to Fyfe, people who work in construction, defence, automotive and other
large complex engineering industries are often already working to the high standards
that are required in the oil and gas sector. They therefore have many transferable
technical and project management skills. This is more cost-effective in the longer
term, he believes, than opting to offer higher salaries or delaying projects.
"There needs to be a balance between encouraging more people into science and
engineering and employers being much more strategic in their forward planning. Not
only is there a shortage of new talent but a ‘brain drain’ is causing many of our
skilled engineers to relocate overseas at a critical time when we need the right
people in place to grow the industry.”
For further information and to access jobs visit www.hays.co.uk/oil-and-gas.
About Hays:
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The
Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people
worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market
leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the
private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and
temporary assignments. Placements are made in various sectors within the energy, oil
and gas sectors including jobs in energy such as nuclear
energy jobs and renewable energy jobs.
For further press information please contact:
Claire Fowler
Hays
Stockley House
130 Wilton Road
London
SW1V 1LQ
020 7259 8821
www.hays.co.uk
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