COVID-19 has only intensified this dynamic: the severe contraction of the oil and gas sector has discouraged job seekers from entering the industry. Within the oilfield services sector, increased operational costs, reduced demand and lower profits per employee led to the loss of more than one million jobs in 2020. An industry as dependent on human and resource capital as oil and gas – not to mention responsible for meeting rising global energy demand – cannot afford to lose high volumes of talent; as a result, companies must restructure roles and responsibilities to align with twenty-first century skillsets and cultivate resilience behind their operating models, while employees across industries must adapt to changing working conditions. Rapidly advancing technologies and remote work setups accelerated by COVID-19 have disrupted traditional job markets and the skillsets needed to compete in them, requiring employers to both re-skill and up-skill employees to generate new solutions in a post-COVD-19 landscape. One such solution is the application of automation and artificial intelligence (AI); contrary to popular belief, automation and digitalization represent an opportunity for spurring job creation and attracting talent, while simultaneously cutting costs. In addition to making existing operations more efficient, integrated and standardized, AI offers the ability to ‘store’ some of the institutional knowledge of retiring employees, while automation renders time consuming, low-skilled job functions obsolete.
Digitalization also plays a role in driving youth participation in the industry. According to a poll conducted by EY in 2019, just six percent of Generation Z respondents and 18% of Millennials considered a career in the oil and gas industry “very appealing.” This is partly due to its association with physical, high-risk and non-technical labor – 55% of respondents cited a “blue-collar” role as the first oil and gas job that comes to mind – as well as perceived environmental detriment, with 23% of respondents considering the industry harmful to the environment. As a result, oil and gas firms are facing increasing pressure to develop company cultures that align with a younger ethos – one that accounts for environmental, cultural and social disciplines; that grants autonomy to employees to work independently and/or remotely and that creates enabling environments for young, skilled and diverse talent that can compete with in-demand jobs in IT, healthcare and finance. Last but not least, a critical step toward generating a more dynamic workforce will be gender-based diversity and inclusion.