This has to be among the most challenging, nay, difficult core themes ever tackled in the 42 years history of Offshore Europe.
But when the decision was taken some 15 months ago to headline 2015’s Offshore Europe with How to Inspire the Next Generation, oil was trading north of $100 per barrel.
As I pen this a barrel of Brent is trading below $50.
As late as mid 2014 . . . in the (just) still good times . . . the North Sea industry was badly in need of an intensive fight the flab workover, many companies were struggling to make a profit and there was much talk of a major skills gap.
A broad church of the North Sea’s leadership had by then woken to the need to cultivate young people . . . from school age students, to apprentices, to university students at various levels.
After all, it looked as if the North Sea oil & gas industry had a future that could be measured in decades, and it would need a plentiful supply of smart talent to realise that possibility.
OK, things don’t look so good right now. It would appear that a sizeable number of fields will be shut down prematurely and decommissioning wheels set in motion; and perhaps a few could be shut in and put to sleep awhile if it makes technical and economic sense.
However, don’t forget, there is that crop of new field developments and revamps that will absolutely assure at least a modicum of UKCS production 30-40-50 years from now. That tells us plainly that a stack of new talent will still be required; thousands of jobs-worth.
But hey! What’s all this about thousands of jobs now being junked . . . not just in the UK but elsewhere around the North Sea, and in the US and South America and Africa and . . . and . . . and?
I recall a report published in the early 1990s by then respected US analysts John S Herold (later acquired by IHS CERA) the core finding of which was that over 1million oil & gas jobs were lost worldwide as a result of the 1986 crash . . . the first big quake to hit the North Sea. Herold excoriated the majors and big contractors for their brutality.
I don’t know what the global impact of the late 1990s crunch was, but several tens of thousands of oil-related jobs evaporated around Britain alone.
Just now, there doesn’t seem to be a clear view of how many UK jobs have evaporated over the past almost a year, let alone elsewhere.
And no one can truly read the runes on this slump either; just offer opinion. And mine is that we’re stuck with the current situation and if oil gets back to around $70 in a couple or three years, it will be as if summer has arrived.
Of course, it all adds up to a dreadful trading environment; moreover one that is punctuated by various dire predictions from this pundit or that economist.
If it’s hard for companies . . . oil & gas players and the supply chain alike . . . to make financial headway, to get lean and fit, then the last thing many will consider is rehiring the skilled people fired in recent months, let alone consider placements for apprentices and graduates, or develop relationships with the local school or young engineers’ clubs, and suchlike.
Yes, there are “compelling statistics”. An EY Fuelling the Next Generation study commissioned by the UK industry last year demonstrated that the oil & gas sector accounts for one in 80 of the UK’s entire workforce, suggesting opportunities for 12,000 new entrants in the next five years.
But tell that to the already far too many youngsters fresh out of university, college or school hoping to get at least an interview with companies in and around Aberdeen let alone any other centre of activity like the north-east of England or the Great Yarmouth area.
What I keep hearing and hearing and hearing time and again is that these kids aren’t getting interviews let alone jobs, and many don’t even get the courtesy of a reply from whomever it was they wrote to. They at least deserve a response. But to HR they they’re just “human capital”.
According to the show literature: “2015 is the first year where we will see young professional engineers present a tailor-made programme to school children sharing knowledge on the background of the industry, why they chose an engineering career path and the highs and lows that they continue to face.
“The session will also consist of keynote talks from industry leaders who will also be participating in the special keynote sessions during the conference, exploring technical areas of interest and helping pupils to learn what to expect if they choose this particular career path.”
Hundreds of young people are scheduled to attend these and other events that have been put together by a lot of really caring people; some of whom must be cringing by now.
Highlights include:
On the Monday (September 7) there is a careers pathway fair, plus Society of Petroleum Engineers training courses
Tuesday to Friday: a SPE student development summit
Tuesday: the Energy4Me programme
Wednesday: Schools engagement programme – 15-17 years old
Thursday: Schools engagement programme – 13-14 years old
Friday: Special keynote session: perception of the industry
Here are some observations; you don’t have to agree with me.
Right now there is a growing queue of graduates who don’t stand a chance of getting work in the North Sea or the international side of the supply chain based in the UK.
At least their US counterparts can go work as roughnecks and roustabouts . . . lowest forms of life . . . in the shale and conventional onshore fields to gain experience, earn a few bucks.
That is simply not possible here; nor is it in the EU, nor is it easy for them to secure Green Cards for the US and go work for a good friend of the family, let alone take pot luck.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not attacking anyone. How to Inspire the Next Generation is a brilliant theme. We all got caught out by circumstance.
Everyone involved had better be ready to field some very tough questions; perhaps the harshest they might ever encounter.
And of course, so many of you have teenagers; possibly cynical too. Oh dear!
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