The final day of the show concentrated largely on how the region and the industry can generate a more sustainable pipeline of talent into the industry.
It is clear that the Middle-east faces the similar skills challenges as the North Sea. Senior oil and gas executives in the Middle-east share the common concern of finding local professionals who can effortlessly fit into middle to senior roles and undertake technical as well as administrative jobs.
A report by Deloitte in 2012, based on a survey of leading industry figures in the Middle-east’s oil and gas industry, found that sourcing the right people and managing human capital was a strategic priority. The study reported a looming talent shortage in several areas including operations, IT, risk and regulatory and research and development.
Without the people to work on R&D, there will be no new technology to meet the growing demand to increase production and a worrying trend in the Middle-east is the preference young graduates have shown for administrative functions rather than technical jobs. Industry leaders were keen to stress that these functions are not dichotomous.
Undertaking technical jobs in the early phases of a young person’s career can pave the way for high-level managerial responsibilities later.
Nurturing domestic talent is an imperative for the Middle-east and from today’s conference sessions, it was evident that it is also a driver for regional governments who are focused on creating new jobs particularly in the technical sector to pursue a vision of optimising oil production and meeting their energy sustainability policies.
With major infrastructure projects in the Middle-east, there is stiff competition for suitably qualified people in technical and engineering disciplines.
There are concerted efforts by universities in the region to provide the right learning for the skills the industry needs but the shared view is that this has to be further strengthened by closer collaborations between academia and industry and by offering more hands-on industry training for both students and young professionals.
With its comprehensive and high profile Young ADIPEC programme, the Middle-east’s largest oil and gas exhibition and conference is rising to the challenge of establishing that collaboration. The UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development – His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nayhan – is the patron of the programme which is also supported by GE Oil & Gas along with many of the region’s operating companies.
The programme aims to forge long-term links between students and the oil and gas industry, create an academic out-reach programme and prepare young people for potential career opportunities in the industry.
One initiative is the Abu Dhabi Science Festival which kick-off this week. Aimed at getting young people more interested in science with a view to increasing the number of school children taking up science and technology subjects, the festival was being actively promoted and financially supported by many of the oil majors at ADIPEC.
A recent recruit to Aberdeen’s own science centre, Satrosphere, is involved in the Abu Dhabi festival. Jennifer Appleton, who has just started at Satrosphere is out here this week and will be bringing back her experiences of the festival to Aberdeen.
Looking after people in the industry is also a priority in the Middle-east and there is a growing focus on health and safety. I spent much of today promoting OPITO’s annual global conference on safety and competency next week in Abu Dhabi and I was warmly received on all the operating company stands.
Almost 400 senior decision makers are now registered for the event on the 19th at which OPITO will outline how it is achieving its vision of one common global training standard for the industry and how it is working at the highest levels in industry and governments to help deliver workforce competency and development strategies.
It has certainly been all about the people for me in the last few days. ADIPEC has been a great opportunity to cement relationships with clients and journalists, meet some influential, interesting and useful contacts and to make new friends.
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