Oilcareers

Attracting, and then retaining, talented personnel is an ongoing concern for many Human Resources (HR) leaders. For larger employers within the oil and gas industry, where the current skills shortage is well documented, this is a real challenge.

Indeed, in many energy centres around the world we are seeing unemployment figures that continue to buck trends in other industries. OilCareers.com plays an important role in facilitating recruitment in a challenging employment landscape.

If we take the North-East of Scotland as an example, unemployment rates are currently extremely low at 2.2% compared to the UK national average of 8%. In this environment many companies can easily fall into the trap of paying higher wages than their competitors in a bid to retain talented staff.

To many this may appear to be the easiest solution, however we have to ask whether the promise of inflated wages really is the most appropriate solution to ensuring employees stay loyal to your organisation?

At Technip, we take a much broader view regarding staff attraction, and retention, as we believe that being able to offer rewarding career development, including visible paths for progression and job variation are just as important to many individuals as overall salary is.

By giving our staff the control to shape how they want to develop professionally, and by providing them with opportunities to do so, we believe we are creating a very positive atmosphere for our employees.

Combine this with our varied lifestyle benefits and incentives like dental and health plans, child care vouchers and Apple products and we believe we are creating the kind of positive life-work balance environment that will see employees thrive.

Using this approach, Technip has been recognised as one of Britain’s Top Employers by the influential CRF institute for the second consecutive year.

Being identified, once again, as one of Britain’s Top Employers was immensely satisfying for us. Independent research was carried out by the CRF Institute which concluded that Technip’s UK operating centre offers outstanding working conditions and industry leading career development.

Top Employer status is awarded to organisations that meet the highest standards in HR practice. Technip was recognised as having outstanding employee offerings across all areas including primary benefits, working conditions, training and development, career development and company culture.

At Technip, we have worked tremendously hard in all aspects to achieve these high standards. Quite simply we believe that without demonstrating the best in HR processes we would not be correctly placed to achieve our business objectives and attract the right people.

Guest blog by Frank Simons, HR Vice President, Technip’s North Sea Canada Region
photo credit: chekhter

OilCareers.com will be exhibiting at the Global Energy Career Expo (GECE) which takes place in Aberdeen on the 12 & 13 June 2013 at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC).

The Global Energy Career Expo is seen as the leading recruitment platform, giving jobseekers and recruiting companies the chance to meet face-to-face and discuss the latest offshore and onshore employment opportunities.

The Oil and Gas industry is facing a critical skills shortage and in the next few years a number of the industry will be retiring and taking with them their expertise, knowledge and skills.  As the Oil and Gas industry continues to develop at a rapid pace and new projects are revealed, in order to secure the industry’s future, significant numbers will need to be added.

If you fall into any of the categories listed then please register for the Career Expo in Aberdeen this year.

Don’t forget to visit OilCareers.com at booth G2, we look forward to meeting you.

photo credit: thetaxhaven

Making your mark overseas

In an industry where the majority of employment opportunities are global, Oil and Gas professionals have a fantastic chance to gain experience across multiple countries. Working overseas can add real value to your career and it is an increasingly popular move in the sector. If you’re considering working overseas, here are a few tips on how you can really make your mark:

• Be flexible with location. There’s a common trait for many candidates looking for a role abroad to be picky with location. It’s important to bear in mind that this move is for the benefit of your career rather than for a vacation, and you could be limiting your options by dictating where you would be happy to work. If you make it clear to your recruiter that you’re open to working in any location, you’re more likely to see success.
• Be realistic. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges for recruiters looking to place candidates is in the expectations of the candidate versus the local talent availability. Remember, the experience you can get in international roles will be hugely valuable in your career progression, but the culture and expectations will vary across borders. If you’re unsure what is and isn’t realistic for your job opportunities, seek advice from a specialist recruiter.
• Highlight your niche skills. If you’ve trained and worked as an expat before, it’s likely that you will have developed a niche skills set which might be limited in supply for the area you’re looking to move to. Consider what your key ‘sell’ is and look at where the global opportunities would be for you. In the oil and gas sector in particular, many of the key international locations are in need of senior level skills, so be sure to highlight any.
• Demonstrate the value add you can have. There’s clearly a trend in improving cost efficiency across the globe so make sure you can outline the added value employing you would bring to the company.
• Tailor your message to the area. Make sure you do your research in advance and demonstrate how your skills fit in with the gaps in the area and perhaps in the company itself.
• Show you are able to develop a team. Companies will want to demonstrate how they are growing the skills of the local talent market and its current workforce. If this is something you have previous experience doing make sure you highlight this in order to gain a competitive advantage.

Working as an expat in any country will add real value to your career development, but remember that the market is getting tougher, particularly for Western talent. To really compete with the growing local talent, you have to build your personal brand and messages. If you follow the tips above you’ll be better placed to compete in a global market – but remember, if you are unsure of any move abroad, make sure you speak to a specialist recruiter for advice.

Good luck!

Guest blog written by Alan Darling, Energy Practice Manager of ReThink Energy