The global focus on attracting more women into the oil and gas industry is not just about creating a more diverse workforce, it is of vital importance if we are to continue to serve the world’s growing energy needs. With demand for engineering expertise far outstripping supply and half the experienced engineering workforce set to retire in the next decade, the sector is facing a crippling skills shortage. In order to power future energy projects, the oil and gas industry must act now to fully tap into this enormous potential talent pool.

 

Our recently published report, Attracting and retaining women in oil and gas engineering – a survey examining the gender talent gap, aims to help highlight what the industry could be doing to attract and retain female employees.

 

Our survey flags many interesting points for further discussion. The encouraging news is that the vast majority of female employees feel welcome in the sector and say they would recommend a career in oil and gas engineering to others. However, 45% say they do not get the same recognition as men. There may be issues of perception and reality here, but undoubtedly the topic needs to be better managed, if the sector is to become more attractive to women.

 

Some 95% of respondents to the survey see mentors as important for career advancement, but 42% are not involved in any form of mentoring. In line with many other sectors and roles, the implementation of formal mentoring programmes would be an important step in supporting the most talented women engineers to progress to senior positions in the oil and gas industry and in doing so, become the role models of tomorrow.

 

As a business, we understand the need to promote diversity within our own workforce. We recently launched a global graduate recruitment scheme – the NES Global Talent Futures Academy – where graduates will be mentored to become expert consultants. By inspiring the workforce, companies can retain and nurture talent. After all, mentoring is important for all employees, both female and male.

 

Creative recruitment techniques executed with women in mind will also help with attraction, but it has to be more than the token “women in hard hats” images that we so often see. Tapping into women’s networks and using positive role models to give speeches at schools and universities will help to encourage more females to enter the sector. The industry needs to show that there is nothing stopping women with the right skills and qualifications from enjoying engineering.

 

Key findings of the report:

• 75% of the women that responded to the survey feel welcome working in the oil and gas industry, yet 45% believe they do not get the same recognition as their male colleagues.

• 89% said they would encourage a female friend to pursue a career in the industry now, with 82% saying they would recommend a career in the sector to someone who is due to finish their studies in a decade’s time.

• 95% believe mentors are important for career advancement, yet 42% said they were neither a mentor nor a mentee.

 

Respondents provided a diverse range of suggestions when asked what companies could be doing to attract and encourage women employees, such as: educating women early (in secondary schools) about careers in the oil and gas industry; giving women a chance to take on more challenging offshore roles; and providing equal benefits and opportunities.

 

• 39% said they would consider taking less money in return for more work flexibility, with many citing a better work life balance and spending more time with the family as the main reasons.

• 82% said they planned to stay in the industry for the next 2 – 5 years.

 

Neil Tregarthen is CEO at NES Global Talent, which provides a complete range of global talent solutions to the worldwide oil and gas, power, and infrastructure sectors. Its set of guaranteed staffing solutions ranges from payroll administration to full recruitment process outsourcing.