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Canada faces potential labor crunch
Gary Park For Petroleum News
Job hunters from skilled tradespeople to professionals could find some of their best prospects in Canada’s petroleum industry this decade, with a survey by the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada estimating the need for additional workers at 105,000.
But the numbers will be influenced by a number of variables — above all commodity prices, along with the value of the Canadian dollar and reinvestment ratios.
Cheryl Knight, the council’s chief executive officer, said that even the most pessimistic outlook suggests a tight labor market for the industry by 2014 and 15,000 additional workers by 2020.
She said the survey findings make it “abundantly clear that even if growth stalls the industry will still face a labor shortage due to a lack of supplied workers and retiring workers.”
The council reported that new hires in 2009 were almost confined to replacement staff, a trend that is expected to continue this year, with only some minor hiring for expansion.
In 2011 and 2012, the survey projects demand for staff will come mainly from expansion plans, then shift in the 2013-19 period to replacement needs as workers retire or leave the industry.
The report covers operational needs only, excluding construction requirements.
Companies will be challenged Janet Annesley, vice president of communications at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the industry’s anticipated recovery is real, now that the discussion about a giant shift change has revived after the economic downturn, but that means companies will be very challenged to find the people they need.
She suggested hiring practices will need to be changed, with Canada relying heavily on immigrants by 2011 and also turning to women and aboriginals.
“We already have immigrants in Canada who have skills and training that are needed for the oil and gas industry, yet we are not taking advantage of that supply,” she said.
Knight said that although professionals are important to the industry, the greater difficulty is attracting young people into trades.
She said certain segments of the industry have declined due to natural gas supply and a shift in technology and, despite growth in the oil sands, that’s a small piece of the equation compared to conventional oil and gas drilling.
The report estimates the breakdown of the current workforce is 50 percent services, drilling and geophysical contractors, 40 percent exploration and production, 7 percent oil sands and 3 percent pipelines.
Over the next decade, the industry is expected to need 3,500 oil and gas servicing and drilling laborers; more than 3,000 operators, both steam and non-steam, that are vital to the oil sands; 2,500 heavy equipment operators; 2,000 drilling coordinators and production managers; 1,500 petroleum engineers; and almost 1,500 geologists and geophysicists.
90 percent recruiting The survey found that 90 percent of respondents from 37 core occupations are currently recruiting due to expansion and/or replacement demand; companies are continuing to increase capital spending and 72 percent of respondents indicated the need to recruit workers to support growth and expansion; and the most pressing workforce issues facing companies today are attracting workers to hard-to-recruit locations (50 percent), aging workforce (36 percent), employee turnover and retention (36 percent) and compensation and benefits expectations (36 percent).
Shortages are expected in key engineering roles, including chemical, mechanical and petroleum, in the 2011-19 period; in key trades occupations starting n 2012; for non-steam and steam operators starting in 2012; and among geologists and geophysicists beginning in 2011.
The council suggests potential solutions include working with educational institutions to ensure their programs align with the industry’s projected needs and to develop and implement outreach strategies, working with women, immigrants, youth and aboriginal people.
The information will be updated annually as the industry revises its production forecasts and as the impact of future environmental regulations becomes known.
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