The OilCareers.com team are making their way back from exhibiting at Adipec, in Abu Dhabi, which is organised by dmg :: events. This year’s show has been the busiest and most successful ever. Our stand featured an innovative Traffic Lights Party design, which asked if you were Red – I love my job, Amber – Excite me and I’ll consider it, or Green – I could be just what you’re looking for. This was a real talking point. It was a pleasure to meet hundreds of new candidates, as well as candidates who have already used OilCareers.com successfully to find roles within oil and gas companies.

On the final day, a delighted lady came over to thank us. She had spoken to us on day one of the show, registered on OilCareers.com and within hours she had been contacted by a recruiter, invited for an interview during Adipec – and landed her first job. It’s so gratifying to meet candidates and share their experiences. Congratulations!

Our Managing Director, Mark Guest, sat on the panel at the Society of Petroleum Engineer Conference addressing The Importance of Human Capital. He joined distinguished speakers from BP, Schlumberger and Saudi Aramco.  He shared unique market insight into job seeker behaviour, recruitment trends and the future of mobile technology.  Did you know that more people in the world own a mobile phone than a tooth brush?

The Adipec Awards recognised the companies who go the extra mile in terms of innovation, strategy, technology and corporate social responsibility. People are at the core of their success. We experienced some amazing culture thanks to the dmg :: events team, who put on a fantastic display for a global audience.

We appeared on Dubai City 7 TV and Dubai Eye radio. To watch Dubai City 7′s special Adipec show featuring Mark Guest, click here. Thanks to everyone who helped make our time at Adipec a pleasure and a success.

Looking for the best jobs in the oil and gas industry is a far simpler process today (thanks in no small part to OilCareers.com, of course!) but increasingly recruiters are turning the process on its head.

Energy sector companies have rightly bemoaned the lack of skilled employees the world over, insisting the best candidates are tough to track down.

While many companies are now successfully hitting targets on graduate and trainee recruitment, a major challenge facing the industry is the recruitment of those with five or more years of relevant experience – people able to ‘hit the ground running’ and drive major projects forward quickly and competently.

Now some of the largest organisations are making even more of an effort to put themselves in front of the right audience, rather than just waiting for the proverbial knock on the door.

A perfect example of this approach was the ignite! Energy Recruitment Show at the Gastech Conference & Exhibition in London last month, which offered a unique opportunity to engineers wishing to learn about many global opportunities available, and to the employers out there who are hiring. Much more than a ‘jobs fair’, ignite! was dedicated to helping global employers source talent for specific projects, matching skillsets to regional projects which are under development.

As you would expect, we were there to help “marry up” candidates with employers, and lend our own expertise on how best the industry can address the dearth of personnel.

The event was held from 8-11 October, at the ExCeL, and proved a huge hit with employers and job hunters alike, with more than 30 major global operators, producers and engineering contractors sharing employment opportunities and around 3,000 interested candidates visiting the stands and training seminars that were on offer.

One of the most popular sessions was the Development of Human Capital panel, which focussed on training. Sarah Beacock, professional affairs director at the Energy Institute, told the audience that training was vital in the workplace but also important for those focusing on professional development ­so the skills they learn with their current employer can help throughout the rest of their careers. Her advice to young people was “volunteer for everything”, explaining that employers will always appreciate this approach.

The session, which also discussed how young people find it increasingly challenging to get into the oil and gas industry, heard from Ieda Gomes, managing director at Energix Strategy Ltd. She explained that western companies tend to have more ageing workforces, whereas Latin American and Middle East organisations have a younger technical staff base. She went on to say that the energy industry needed to paint a different picture to the young people of today, to show them that many opportunities – besides engineering jobs – are on offer.

The ignite! event was a great example of the innovative approaches being taken by employers, as they hunt for those hunting for the best jobs on offer. Our own research shows that demand for engineers in the energy sector peaked this year at an astonishing 89,688 open positions – with such competition among employers for the talent out there, it seems likely that more and more companies will be willing to think outside the box when it comes to landing the top talent.

Oilcareers.com, the world’s largest online dedicated oil & gas job board, has been named ‘Best Job Board’ at the 2012 Global Recruiter Asia Pacific Recruitment Industry Awards.

The award was presented at a gala dinner at the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore on September 6 2012.

OilCareers.com Managing Director, Mark Guest said he is delighted for the company to be recognised with this prestigious award.

“With one million registered job seekers, and more than 8 million page impressions on our site every month, OilCareers.com has become the giant of online recruitment within the oil and gas industry, with more visitors, users, and CVs/resumes than any other specialist recruitment website,” he said.

OilCareers.com has been operating since 1999 and has steadily expanded it international presence. In early 2012 the company bolstered its footprint in the Asia Pacific region, with the opening of offices in Perth and Brisbane.

“OilCareers.com has been working with both candidates and clients in Australia for many years from afar, and we are now committed to growing our business in this vitally important oil and gas economy.

“We are making a continuous and significant investment to bring new, high quality, specialist oil and gas candidates to OilCareers.com from Australia and across the globe,” he said.

OilCareers.com is delighted to be participating in the World Heavy Oil Congress (WHOC), which will take place from 10 – 13 September at the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre.

The theme of the Congress is Improving Sustainability through Innovation and Collaboration, and will feature over 140 speakers and authors from around the world on the topics of economics, environment, technology advancement, and more, with sustainability and improving responsible methods of developing heavy oil resources both offshore and onshore, key points of discussion.

The Congress consists of a Business Conference, Technical Conference, Exhibition and numerous networking events that will gather nearly 1,000 delegates, visitors and exhibitors from more than 30 countries, including Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Russia, UAE, UK , USA and more.

Experts from around the world will deliver presentations both from a business and technical perspective, including China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Government of Alberta, Canada; Government of Saskatchewan, Canada; Nautical Petroleum, Nynas, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Pemex (Mexico) and Statoil (Norway), among others.

Hosted by Aberdeen City Council, World Heavy Oil Congress has also attracted high-level local government ministers and visiting ministers from Canada, in addition to key personnel from national oil companies and independent oil companies from around the world.

“Aberdeen is looking forward to welcoming the World Heavy Oil Congress in September,” said Lord Provost of Aberdeen, George Adam. “The city is a world leader in the energy market and has enjoyed a long relationship with countries around the globe across all sectors of the industry.”

Since its launch in 2006, the Congress has become one of the strongest platforms for international oil companies, national oil companies, governments, the service sector and academic experts to navigate the challenges and opportunities related to unlocking the potential of heavy oil around the globe. WHOC has been held in Beijing, China; Edmonton, Alberta; Margarita Island, Venezuela, and now Aberdeen, Scotland.

“As Aberdeen is the energy epicenter for the UK and Europe, it is extremely fitting that we bring together the world’s leading experts to discuss the challenges related to this important resource,” says Wes Scott, Executive Vice President, dmg events, organiser of the Congress. “The committees of the WHOC at this Preliminary Meeting have come to an understanding that improving operations through collaboration and technology will help define how heavy oil is extracted efficiently, cost-effectively, in a responsible manner, in order to improve operations for long-term sustainability.”

Highlights include:

• Business      Conference with Keynote Speakers focusing on global industry trends and      challenges (11 & 12 September)
• Technical      Conference consisting of over 140 presentations in 5 concurrent streams on      varying topics (12 & 13 September)
• Networking      and social events daily (10 – 13 September)
• Short      Courses and Technical Tours of local operating facilities, including      Schlumberger and Champion Technologies

For a full list of the Business Conference and Technical Conference programme, please visit www.worldheavyoilcongress.com. Congress Delegate fees are £1,995.00 and include the Business and Technical Conferences, social events, technical tours and daily networking breaks and Keynote Luncheons.

World Heavy Oil Congress also showcases over 40 companies in the Exhibition, and professionals working in the energy industry are welcome to attend the Exhibition free of charge by registering online at www.worldheavyoilcongress.com.

OilCareers.com is proud to be sponsoring the inaugural Australia Gas Technology (AGT) event, which takes place in the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre this week from July 25 -27. Visitors will arrive at the show on the OilCareers.com shuttle bus.

The event focuses on the LNG industry particularly gas processing and the construction and operation of LNG facilities, associated pipelines and export terminals. It includes a conference, trade exhibition, Innovation awards and a Careers and Education initiative.

AGT Event Director, Bill Hare said “Australia is poised to become the world’s leading LNG exporter by 2020 and this growth is driving an extraordinary range of innovative products, projects and technologies.”

OilCareers.com Australia Country Manager Jackie Kirk, who is at the show, said: “AGT Perth is a fantastic opportunity to meet with industry leaders and attend networking events.”

“With conference speakers from Chevron , Woodside and Shell, OilCareers.com is branding itself alongside the major operators here in Perth. Various speakers are addressing the skills shortage challenges facing the industry and students and mature age workers have the opportunity to hear presentations and identify career paths within the oil and gas industry.”

According to the federal government, Australia needs an additional 90,000 workers over the next four years. OilCareers.com recently opened two new offices in Australia, one in Perth and one in Brisbane making us best placed to work with leading oil and gas employers in Australia. Our research indicates demand for geologists, engineers, project managers and senior designers is at an all-time high. If you’re interested in immigrating to Australia, click here to see our Australian vacancies.