Training, Development: Maintaining a Skilled Workforce in Oil, Gas

HR professionals weigh in on how to develop and train a workforce during uncertain times in oil and gas.

HR experts shared best practices on how to manage layoffs with care as well as acquire skilled workers during the industry downturn. Additionally, it’s important to remember the war for talent is not over, rather it’s changing and evolving. During this downturn, HR and recruiters should make strategic decisions in order to maintain a successful business.

Is Upskilling Full-Proof?

A new buzzword has been gaining traction in the energy industry: upskilling. But what is it exactly and why has it become popular?

“The term upskilling was intended to be the teaching of an employee additional skills to enhance the capabilities of a staff,” Chris Melillo, managing partner and energy practice leader for Kaye/Bassman International Corp., told Rigzone.

But is upskilling always the best idea? Some seem to think so, given the current state of the market. But Melillo warns that upskilling shouldn’t be looked at as a means of securing work after an individual has already been laid off. Rather, it should be an ongoing part of an employee’s development. 

“Too often, the concept of upskilling in a bad market is too late for it to help. For example, a person may get laid off and think they can go get some additional skills, then secure a job quickly,” said Melillo, who receives 20 drilling resumes a day and 25 to 30 geoscience resumes a day.

While the idea of taking additional courses might work in Information Technology positions where things are heavily knowledge-based, for oil and gas, learning a new skill set is only going to be a start, Melillo advised.

“Too often, we research a candidate and find that while they have exposure to a specific type of horizontal drilling, it was only for two to three months,” he said. “Upskilling has to have a lot of application behind it.”

Melillo said it’s also common for workers to think vertically in terms of employment (i.e. only upward movement – promotions and senior roles), but oil and gas employees should consider lateral moves within an industry because of potential opportunities and security in the case of downturns, such as the one the industry is currently experiencing.

Gaining as much experience in as many areas as possible is key, especially for drillers, for example, who may fare well with lateral levels of drilling experience when there may not be supervisory or managerial positions available, but still a focus on completion and production. 

Developing Talent and Leadership

It can be more costly to hire new employees and train them rather than develop ways to continuously develop the talent already in a company’s own office. For this reason, many oil and gas companies have found much success with internal training programs for employees.

“When you’re blowing and going and things are wide open in the oil patch, a lot of times training gets placed on the back burner and the focus is on getting talent in the door, giving them the minimum amount of training that is needed and getting them out to the rigs because you’re simply trying to keep up with the demands of your clients,” said Marty Kunz, vice president of HR for C&J Energy. “But training is very important, not only hard skills training and safety training, but soft skills training – things like teaching new supervisors that might be in a supervisory role for the first time, human resources training for the non-HR manager and other basic tools they need to put in their kit to be effective and successful managers of people.”

Halliburton Co., who offers its 12-month President’s Leadership Excellence Program (PLEP), shared positive results in the program helping to develop effective leaders for their organization.  

Cindy Bigner, Halliburton’s senior global director of corporate affairs and diversity initiatives, said PLEP allows participants an opportunity to address real company challenges in small teams and helps prepare individuals to move into senior roles in the company.

“That’s the goal: to actually develop our key leadership for the company in the future,” she said.

PLEP also allows Halliburton to weed out those individuals who cannot handle the pressure or demands of the program or those who decide management isn’t really what they want to do.

“This program prepares them to be leaders at Halliburton and also allows them to understand what is required at that level,” Bigner said. “It’s a huge opportunity and considered one of the greatest honors at Halliburton to be chosen for the program. Almost every single one of our executive committee has been through this program. It’s a big honor and something that is highly looked at when we consider promotions.”

Training and career development can be vital to retaining quality employees in an organization.

“Those that are remaining after the layoffs, I think it’s an important message to send to those people that you invest your time and effort in them and tell them you believe in them, that you’re still here,” Kunz said. “Get caught up in the training you didn’t know you or your company had time for. It sends a strong message to [employees], it makes them better managers, it makes them better employees and it will make you stronger coming out the other side.”

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