Graduates and a number of core engineering disciplines enjoyed considerable pay increases during 2012 but there was no change in the number of women joining the oil and gas industry.
And the biggest pay rises took place in the service sector.
“In line with more project work coming through final investment decision, the core disciplines of electrical, mechanical, piping and process engineering all had a good year, making up for some lost ground in 2012,” says Hays in its 2013 oil and gas salaries survey.
“This was also mirrored in HSE and commissioning specifically in the more senior roles, where experienced managers of projects in these disciplines were hard to find.
“We saw the biggest increase in graduate salaries rising by more than 12% to just under $40,000 equivalent. For an industry that has historically under-invested in entry-level skills this is welcome news.”
At other levels, salaries for operators/technicians also saw rises of 9% as did the top end of the scale with base salaries in VP/directors rising by the same amount.
The largest rise during 2012, more than 16.7%, took place across the equipment manufacturers.
“There is some conjecture as to why this is happening, however, it is probably no coincidence that this industry was the “least well paid” of the company types surveyed in 2011,” says Hays.
“It is only now after a couple of years of positive revenue that they are starting to claw back some of the lost ground in what they can afford to pay their workforce. We have also seen technological demands in the industry accelerating at a faster rate than at any point in history.”
According to Hays, the other “under achievers” historically in terms of salaries are the service contractors. They also saw a good return in 2012 with an increase of 11%.
But, in terms of the magnitude of the base salaries by company type, global super majors and other operators, Hays is clear that they continue to lead the market
As for the failure to bring more women into the industry, Hays describes this as disappointing, especially so given current skills shortages, an “opportunity missed”.
“Regionally the Americas are faring better than other regions, as the only two continents with more than 10% female workers. The Middle East, Africa and Asia are once again at the lower end of the scale.
“The spread of discipline splits among women in the industry remains the same as last year, with business development, project controls and HSE as the largest sectors of employment for females.”
Ageing has for long been an issue in the upstream sector, with much concern in the North Sea. However, Hays says there is a bigger problem on the other side of the North Atlantic.
“The market with the most acute issue is the US with more than 55% of respondents over 50 years of age. We believe that this is already driving the high demand for talent in the US and Canada, that would appear to exceed current project and production needs.”
Hays reports too that the number of oil and gas professionals working overseas continues to increase.
In 2012, this percentage had risen to 47.4%, up from the previous year’s figure of 42.6%.
“This trend is due to a number of factors, primarily the promotion of inward skilled migration by nation’s governments that facilitates the growth.
“With skill shortages as they are, we do not expect it will be long before there are more oil and gas professionals overseas than there are in their own home countries.