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 Shortlisted for the Asia Pacific Global Recruiter Awards

We’re thrilled to announce that OilCareers.com has reached the finals of The Global Recruiter Asia Pacific Recruitment Industry Awards for the Best Job Board category. The competition is fierce and this is great recognition of our team’s hard work and our on-going commitment to providing excellent customer service.

We look forward to the results being announced at the gala awards dinner on the 6^th September in the incredible Marina Bay complex in Singapore. The event will bring together the recruitment industry in and around Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and other Asia Pacific jurisdictions.

Click here for further information or to book tickets.

The OilCareers team have enjoyed an action-packed week attending The Global Petroleum Show (GPS) and The Global Energy Career Expo in Calgary, as well as the International Refining and Petrochemical Conference in Milan.

A record 63,000 attendees and 2,200 exhibitors, from 95 countries made GPS the largest energy event in Canada. OilCareers was proud to be a Platinum sponsor offering the chance to win an iPad every hour. We also hosted a reception for Young Professionals in Energy.

Ten thousand job seekers queued to get into the Global Petroleum Career Expo. The OilCareers team met thousands of oil and gas professionals looking for an exciting, new career challenge, as well as graduates hoping to get their first foot in the door. As a result Canadian traffic to www.oilcareers.com has soared to over 100,000 visitors over the past month.

Managing Director, Mark Guest was delighted with the success saying “GPS is one of the premier energy events in the world and a fantastic opportunity to showcase OilCareers innovative recruitment website. The Human Resources Institute of Canada is forecasting that 9,500 jobs will need to be filled by 2015, as a result of the mass retirement of baby boomers. OilCareers provides an invaluable one stop shop for recruiters and jobseekers to come together, and we’d like to thank the thousands of people who have now registered and uploaded their resumes onto our site.”

We were also delighted to join over 500 industry professionals at IRPC in Milan. IRPC is a leading technical conference for industry leaders to share knowledge and discuss the latest technological and operational advances relating to the international refining and petrochemical industries. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booths to learn more about OilCareers.

Sir Robert Smith Unveils New Global Head-Quarters

We were delighted to welcome Sir Robert Smith, Liberal Democrat MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, to officially open our state-of-the-art new head-quarters located in the centre of “Surf City” in Westhill. This exciting move represents a significant six figure investment for OilCareers.com.

Mark Guest, managing director of OilCareers.com, said: “The energy industry remains an exciting, innovative and vibrant sector, offering unrivalled opportunities to a diverse range of jobseekers throughout the world. Our company has continued to grow and now has more than one million registered users, with in excess of 750,000 unique visitors every month. Our global reach means we are best-placed to match jobseekers with the right role.”

“In order to meet both the demands and the expectations of our clients and to accommodate our growing workforce, we took the decision to move to new offices, helping ensure we continue to be recognised as the market leader in online recruitment within the oil and gas industry.”

Since its launch in 1999, OilCareers.com has rapidly grown to become the world’s largest online oil and gas recruitment service, providing jobseekers with an easy and effective way of searching for a new job or career across all specialisms within the international energy industry. Each year, we invest more than £1m in marketing to help our customers attract the widest possible talent pool of oil and gas candidates globally.

I’m sure most of you are aware that 1st November sees the opening of ADIPEC 2010, which will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre,  running until Thursday 4th November.

OilCareers.com will be exhibiting for the duration of the show on stand CN030 which is on the concourse outside Hall 11.

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