Long-term view needed for oil & gas contractors
18 June 2013
The world’s oil & gas market is lacking talent here and now – but taking a long-term view is key in the employment and deployment of contract staff.
Tue, 18 Jun 2013The world’s oil & gas market is lacking talent here and now – but taking a long-term view is key in the employment and deployment of contract staff.
This is according to sector experts speaking to Recruiter for our oil & gas Sector Focus on p14 of the new edition of the magazine, out last Friday.
It is important to see that your contract staff are passing their expertise on through an organisation, says Sarah Bass, an HR business partner in the Asia-Pacific region at GL Noble Denton, which provides technical advisory services to the industry globally.
“It's not common practice to employ a team made up exclusively of expats within the Asian oil & gas industry,” Bass tells Recruiter, “and at GL Noble Denton, we focus on the need to upskill our local technical experts.
“We implement a pyramid scheme which ensures expats can transfer their skills to the local teams, so it is crucial that we only bring onboard expats who are willing to pass on their expertise,” she says.
The downside of not retaining skills within an organisation is highlighted by Helen Smith, the chief executive officer of recruiter Oil Consultants.
“Historically, companies took a short-term view and brought in contractors, also known as consultants, to complete this type of work. At the time this was the most economical option enabling the companies to maximise production and profit. As a result a lot of these key skills were ‘out-sourced’ and company employees were unable to gain experience in these areas.”
Smith, whose firm were double nominees at May’s Recruiter Awards for Excellence 2013, sponsored by Eploy, says there are some younger contractors unable to get the opportunities or pay rates they would hope for in the industry – they should look for the long-term reward rather than focusing on immediacy, she advises.
“We recommend that people don’t consider becoming a contractor until they have gained this experience through a permanent placement. However, if they do decide to move into the market a little bit earlier, they must be prepared to be flexible with pay rates and work locations to help build up that skills base,” she says.
Meanwhile, Mike Walker, the managing director for energy & natural resources at Progressive Recruitment, an SThree company, says that with the oil & gas recruitment market getting crowded, the long-term approach is indispensable.
“The key is to move from being purely transactional to developing relationship to secure your long-term business with your client base,” he tells Recruiter.
“Short-termism will always reap short-term rewards, but to be considered a true business partner requires strategic insight and the ability to support companies and candidates for the short, mid and long term.”
This is according to sector experts speaking to Recruiter for our oil & gas Sector Focus on p14 of the new edition of the magazine, out last Friday.
It is important to see that your contract staff are passing their expertise on through an organisation, says Sarah Bass, an HR business partner in the Asia-Pacific region at GL Noble Denton, which provides technical advisory services to the industry globally.
“It's not common practice to employ a team made up exclusively of expats within the Asian oil & gas industry,” Bass tells Recruiter, “and at GL Noble Denton, we focus on the need to upskill our local technical experts.
“We implement a pyramid scheme which ensures expats can transfer their skills to the local teams, so it is crucial that we only bring onboard expats who are willing to pass on their expertise,” she says.
The downside of not retaining skills within an organisation is highlighted by Helen Smith, the chief executive officer of recruiter Oil Consultants.
“Historically, companies took a short-term view and brought in contractors, also known as consultants, to complete this type of work. At the time this was the most economical option enabling the companies to maximise production and profit. As a result a lot of these key skills were ‘out-sourced’ and company employees were unable to gain experience in these areas.”
Smith, whose firm were double nominees at May’s Recruiter Awards for Excellence 2013, sponsored by Eploy, says there are some younger contractors unable to get the opportunities or pay rates they would hope for in the industry – they should look for the long-term reward rather than focusing on immediacy, she advises.
“We recommend that people don’t consider becoming a contractor until they have gained this experience through a permanent placement. However, if they do decide to move into the market a little bit earlier, they must be prepared to be flexible with pay rates and work locations to help build up that skills base,” she says.
Meanwhile, Mike Walker, the managing director for energy & natural resources at Progressive Recruitment, an SThree company, says that with the oil & gas recruitment market getting crowded, the long-term approach is indispensable.
“The key is to move from being purely transactional to developing relationship to secure your long-term business with your client base,” he tells Recruiter.
“Short-termism will always reap short-term rewards, but to be considered a true business partner requires strategic insight and the ability to support companies and candidates for the short, mid and long term.”
- Click for more from Bass, Smith and Walker in the Sector Focus in the new edition of the magazine, or previous oil, gas and energy recruitment news from recruiter.co.uk.
