Jun 2008 - OPEC

Key findings of the survey conducted by the Energy Institute, Deloitte and
Norman Broadbent
The findings are segmented by the survey target audiences:
companies, individuals and HR professionals.
Companies Over 70 per cent of the energy companies surveyed believed they would not have
sufficient leadership talent to meet the industry’s future challenges;
Poaching competitors’ employees was expected to be an issue, with most
companies perceiving themselves as potential victims, rather than perpetrators; and
Internal training and development programmes are delivering insufficient
numbers of trained personnel to develop into senior roles.
Individuals Energy professionals have traditionally been very loyal to their employers, leading
the industry to expect stability among its workforce (90 per cent of under 35s
expect to stay in the energy industry for more than five years). However, with the
general trend in working life moving towards greater mobility, will the energy
sector be able to adapt to increased staff turnover?
Two-thirds of the individuals polled declared a high degree of job satisfaction and
even more would recommend a career in the industry to a new graduate;
A fulfilling and challenging job together with a good work-life balance has
superseded salary as the overriding reason to choose a career in the energy
industry; and
The average age of the workforce in the sample was 45. Fifty per cent of
respondents are expected to leave the industry in the next decade, mostly
through retirement.
HR departments The main shortage area was for technical specialists, in particular engineers. The
level of specialization required in many cases led to recruitment being mostly
from within the industry;
They perceived a lack of interest in the industry as a bigger barrier than the lack of
skills in recruiting outside of the industry;
Competition from non-technical commercial sectors for the graduate pool was an
issue — attracting even technically qualified people; and
In order to find the right levels of skills, most companies still predominantly and
actively seek more experienced workers.
OPEC bulletin 6/08
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