Graduate Recruitment Slows, but Still Present in Oil, Gas

Graduate Recruitment Slows, but Still Present in Oil, Gas
Oil and gas companies adjust their graduate recruitment strategies to deal with the industry downturn.

 

As the low oil price environment sets the stage for a new normal in the energy sector, companies are faced with the necessary, albeit controversial, challenge of implementing workforce reductions to cut costs while simultaneously building their talent pipeline.

With many industry professionals who have experienced several downturns admitting the current plunge is one of the worst they’ve seen, accompanied with effects of the Great Crew Change, companies have to be diligent in aligning their workforce to be efficient once the market rebalances. 

So where does that leave graduate recruitment? How are companies managing their graduate recruitment strategies while maneuvering through the downturn? Rigzone set out to find out.

Making Adjustments

Layoff announcements abound, and some people are wondering if energy companies should be focusing their efforts on graduate recruitment, let alone hiring anybody at this time.

But taking note of miscues from the past, the industry is adjusting its strategies to recruit graduates amid the downturn.

Zdravka Demeter Bubalo
Zdravka Demeter Bubalo, HR VP, MOL Group
HR VP, MOL Group

“We have to think in a long-term perspective. Experiences from the past show how quickly the external environment and oil prices can change,” Zdravka Demeter Bubalo, human resources vice president for Hungary’s MOL Group, told Rigzone. “If we lose time to hire talents and develop them for future roles, we lose a competitive advantage in the long run … the external environment has to be taken into account, but we all have to prepare for the future by ensuring the sustainable talent pipeline.”

Bubalo said MOL Group’s integrated upstream-downstream business model helps the company absorb the external shocks of commodity prices.

But the oil glut still gave cause for some adjustments in the company’s graduate recruitment. Bubalo said MOL Group offered 170 positions in 2016 compared to 200 positions a year ago.

Similarly, Royal Dutch Shell plc has taken a long-term view and is recruiting in the downturn to be ready to support the world’s rising energy demand, Jeroen de Weerd, vice president of recruitment, told Rigzone.

Jeroen de Weerd
Jeroen de Weerd, VP Recruitment, Shell
VP Recruitment, Shell

“Next to this, we show how we keep innovation high on the agenda through our Shell Ideas360, a competition where students can work with Shell to develop their ideas with regards to the Stress Nexus – [the interconnectivity between the vital resources energy, food and water],” de Weerd said. “It is an excellent way for students who are having doubts to see that Shell remains working hard at the energy challenge ahead and what great opportunities it is offering for students with a great variety of backgrounds.”

Global oilfield provider Oceaneering International, which typically has a large number of engineering interns and graduates, has had to downsize this intake.

“We’re probably at about 50 percent fewer engineering interns than we had last year,” Phoebe Heard, senior recruiter, told Rigzone. “Though we’re bringing in less [interns], we just downsized our numbers, we didn’t do away with our programs. I’m happy about that.”

Interest Not Waning   

Even though companies are cutting back on their graduate recruiting, the number of graduates seeking jobs is as high as ever. That makes sense considering the competitive candidate pool.

MOL Group’s initiatives for building its talent pipeline are still wildly popular among aspiring energy professionals.

Last year, more than 10,000 candidates applied to the company’s Growww program – a one-year graduate program created in 2007 to provide top talents a unique opportunity to start a career in oil and gas. Most Growww participants go on to serve as experts or specialists at MOL Group. Almost 40 percent of former program participants have been vertically promoted in the company, Bubalo said.    

MOL Group’s online international Freshhh competition, in which teams of students build a new oil corporation, has seen more than 25,000 students apply since its creation in 2007.          

UPPP is MOL Group’s newest program. It is an 18-month development program focusing on young professionals in the exploration and production sector. Since its inception in 2014, the program has attracted more than 6,000 students.

Phoebe Heard
Phoebe Heard, Senior Recruiter, Oceaneering International
Senior Recruiter, Oceaneering International

Heard maintains that interest in Oceaneering’s programs has also remained high.

“A lot of the students are very educated about the industry and understand its ups and downs,” said Heard. “At the same time, when I’m out there speaking to students, we hear them say how some companies have rescinded their offers for employment [due to the downturn]. So, we understand their concerns, but one thing we try to do at Oceaneering is honor our offers. If we offer an intern employment, thankfully, we’ve been able to stick to it.”

Reality Check

If nothing else, the oil glut has been a dose of reality for burgeoning oil and gas professionals, many of whom are currently pursuing degrees in hopes of landing a job in the industry.

“Students are aware of the current challenges impacting the sector … but there is also an awareness of the cyclical nature of the industry and acceptance that if they are prepared to wait, the picture will improve. However, that picture may look very different from what it did only a year or so ago,” Will Ritchie, careers consultant team leader for Aberdeen-based Robert Gordon University, told Rigzone.

Will Ritchie
Will Ritchie, Careers Consultant Team Leader, Robert Gordon University
Careers Consultant Team
Leader, Robert Gordon University

Encompassed in the University of Houston’s (UH) Bauer College of Business are 28 classes designed specifically for the energy industry.

Many UH business students, about 45 percent, graduate and work in the energy industry, Jamie Belinne, assistant dean for the Bauer College of Business told Rigzone.

Being in the energy hub of Houston, business classes with an energy focus make sense due to demand.

“The industry was telling us we need more graduates with specialized knowledge, so we created the courses,” said Belinne.

As far as students’ feelings on the industry and possible job opportunities, Belinne said “there are no hard feelings.”

“Historically, oil and gas jobs paid the best. Many graduates could make $70,000 right out of school,” she said. “The challenge becomes students having their mind set on those salaries. Other industries don’t pay as much. If [oil and gas] were to recover tomorrow, [the graduates] would gladly go back to it.”

Maintaining an Active Presence

While hiring is stagnant in the industry, companies are doing their due diligence to avoid a repeat of the downturn of the 80s, in which they stopped graduate recruitment altogether, helping contribute to the skills gap present in the industry now.   

There have been ongoing collaborative efforts between the industry and academia to help combat this.

“The companies that stay engaged on campus are the ones playing their cards right,” said Belinne. “I often joke that you can always spot the HR and recruiters who are new to the industry. They’ll say it doesn’t make sense to do campus recruiting. They just want experienced hires. That’s a short-term strategy, but not sustainable for long-term.”

Jamie Belinne
Jamie Belinne, Assistant Dean, Bauer College of Business
Assistant Dean, Bauer College of Business

Belinne said the industry-school collaborations have to be well-planned to align objectives with achievable results.

“Being a university, we often spend our days with employers asking them, ‘what do you need?’” she said. “But while we are here to provide a well-rounded education to students and are able to develop courses, we are not a technical school or a jobs training program.”

Keeping your company in the face of students is the best thing the industry can do during this downturn, said Heard, who added that participating in mock interviews on campus, critiquing resumes and having lead engineers visit schools are all ways companies can brand themselves without spending money.

“We are focused on getting the message to aspiring energy professionals that recruitment in the industry has not necessarily stopped wholesale. The need for companies to recruit and develop graduate talent is ongoing,” Ritchie said. “It is important that companies maintain a high visibility and be in the line of students – recruiting is not the only way they can support and engage with students and they should be honest with students about the current situation and impact on recruitment.”  



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