Editor's comment

16-September 2009 | By DeeDee Doke

The oil & gas people get it: changes are needed, both in the perception and the reality of their industry, if future generations of brains and talent are going to seek jobs with them.

A major oil & gas conference last week in Aberdeen put the spotlight on the problem but more important, attempted to shed an even brighter light on possible solutions to the dwindling reserves of talent in the energy sector’s pipeline. The forward-looking folks at Maersk North Sea UK have put some thought into appropriate and effective onboarding as a recruitment tool, for instance, instead of simply throwing brochures and posters depicting their desired candidate pool at the situation.

Around the world, efforts to recruit local nationals into oil & gas operations abroad which have previously been expatriate magnets may also serve as a crucial step in introducing new talent into the mix.

It will be fascinating to watch, and learn from, as the well-funded oil & gas industry provides a real life case study into confronting its image issues and crafting recruitment strategies to suit.

DeeDee Doke
Editor