Social Sustainability: Case Studies

Attracting and Developing the Right Talent

Background

The PILOT Workforce Capacity and Capability Group has been established with the aim of matching the size, quality, and diversity of the workforce to current and future business needs.

To meet these needs will require the oil and gas industry to project the attractiveness of the sector as a place to work and to strive for increased diversity, targeting mature workers from other industries and providing career pathways for more women and those from ethnic minorities.

In 2005 the industry commissioned a major piece of research to better understand any present skills shortages or gaps and to help improve the forecasting of future workforce demand from planned activity.

Finding and Developing Fresh Talent

The Upstream Technician Training Programme continues to provide the industry with the regular supply of fresh talent it needs to maintain offshore operations. The Scheme is developing a new generation of young technicians who will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to gain experience on the job whilst still having access to the expertise of the current workforce. More than 500 young people will have entered the scheme by the end of 2005 and changes to the recruitment campaign this year have seen applications from females and ethnic minorities rise to almost 15% of the total.

The launch of the Offshore Training Foundation, OTF, in 2005 marks the consolidation into one fund of the industry's previous financial investment in a number of training and education activities. OTF funds will be used on a variety of innovative projects to help attract, retain and develop a suitably skilled workforce. Examples of proposed pilot projects include the development of post graduate industry entry courses, developing entry pathways into the industry for skilled workers from other sectors and broader work with schools and colleges.

UKOOA member's funding of the Earth Science Education Unit, ESEU, is now in the fourth year of its initial 5-year agreement. Since its launch in 2002, the ESEU central team and their 49 facilitators across England, Scotland and Wales, have provided in-service training, through interactive workshops, to 3701 teachers and 3246 trainee teachers who, in turn, will influence more than half a million pupils. Teachers value the ESEU workshops with high feedback scores reporting improved background knowledge, confi dence and teaching strategies.