The OPEC Bulletin is the Organization's monthly flagship magazine, featuring news from Member Countries, incisive forum articles, a review of the oil market, topical issues and much more.

Cover Feture
Wanted: Human Resources

The energy industry cannot thrive without knowhow. And that is the human dimension. It is the cog that drives the industry forward. However, over the past decade, concerns have emerged over shortages in the human resource skills base. Some suggest that this could potentially limit the industry’s development, a topic that has been the focus of many industry studies.

James Griffin examines the challenges and highlights some of the solutions proposed.

he global energy system is at the heart of almost everything we do. It impacts us as individuals, as countries, and as a global community. And it is clear that the growing interrelationships between energy, economic growth, the protection of the environment and social progress will see its importance advance further.

To support such a global industry requires significant human resources; important not only to the industry today, but also to its future. Currently, however, there are concerns as to the adequacy of the human resource skills base, due to a number of factors.

These include a scaling back of the energy sector’s recruitment in the last decades of the 20th century. Then, many institutions significantly reduced the numbers taking energy-related studies as the industry’s demand for graduates lessened. It needs those numbers today. In recent years, there has also been a dramatic expansion in the service and emerging knowledge economies, which has led to fierce competition for talent. Additionally, there is a large section of the industry’s workforce, particularly what many call the ‘baby boomers’ that entered the industry in the 1970s, that are rapidly approaching retirement.

Set alongside this has been the energy industry’s recent considerable expansion that has led to calls for more skilled personnel. Those calls have not always been met. And going forward, it might be expected that these calls will become even louder as the industry continues to expand. What is clear, is that the energy industry, as a whole, needs to expand and evolve its human resource skills base. ...

Download OPEC Bulletin, June 2008

PDF format, 4.2MB, 67Pages.

Publishers: OPEC
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
Obere Donaustrasse 93
1020 Vienna, Austria
Telephone: +43 1 211 12/0
Telefax: +43 1 216 4320
Public Relations & Information
Department fax: +43 1 214 9827
E-mail: prid@opec.org
Web site: www.opec.org

Visit the OPEC Web site for the latest news and information about the Organization and back issues of the OPEC Bulletin which is also available free of charge in PDF format. Hard copy subscription: $70/year

Membership and aims:

OPEC is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, established in Baghdad, September 10–14, 1960, by IR Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Its objective is to coordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry. The Organization now comprises 13 Members: Qatar joined in 1961; Indonesia and SP Libyan AJ (1962); United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, 1967); Algeria (1969); Nigeria (1971); Angola (2007); and Ecuador (joined the Organization in 1973, suspended its Membership in 1992, and rejoined in 2007); Gabon joined in 1975 and left in 1995.

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Add Comment