Introduction

OPITO is the focal point for skills, learning and workforce

development in the oil & gas industry. It aims to deliver the right

skills for the industry now and in the future. OPITO was

established to meet industry demand for a competent and

competitive workforce. To achieve this it works with industry

employers, training providers and higher education providers.

Careers for life are now relatively rare in the UK. Individuals now

have more varied career options, career progression routes and

more opportunities. However, as technology is constantly

changing, the workforce requires ongoing development to ensure

employees have the correct skills to perform their job role

effectively.

The oil & gas industry is a diverse sector that operates globally,

both onshore and offshore. Over 400,000 people are employed in

the UK industry alone with the majority of those employed

onshore. Both offshore and onshore environments offer a wide

variety of roles from drilling to design, accounts to engineering

and HR to PR.

All activity within the industry must conform to specified industry

standards. These standards ensure a safe working environment

for the oil & gas workforce. OPITO develop training standards in

partnership with the industry and work closely with the training

providers who deliver the courses to ensure that standards are

maintained.

OPITO therefore plays a strategic role in the oil & gas industry

through workforce planning and skills development globally.

OPITO works with industry employers to allow employees to

engage in an ongoing process of professional development. This

helps to ensure that organisations have appropriately skilled and

qualified workers to help meet their business objectives.

This case study demonstrates how the right people with the right

skills ensure that the sector can maximise the recovery of the

remaining oil and gas reserves as well as remaining competitive

and profitable.

Curriculum Topics

• Workforce planning

• Functions of an organisation

• Roles and responsibilities

• Roles within the oil & gas

industry

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Skills: Capability arising from practiceand experience.

Strategic: Fundamental to a plan forachieving key objectives.

Workforce planning: The process ofanticipating an organisation’s futurestaffing needs and then making a planto fulfill them.

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Roles & responsibilities

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Workforce planning

Workforce planning is a fundamental tool used by many

organisations. This involves estimating future workforce

requirements in terms of both labour demand and skills to aid the

achievement of business objectives. An appropriately skilled

workforce is critical to an organisations short-term and long-term

future in order to remain competitive.

The industry requires a highly talented workforce, meaning the

search for talent is extremely competitive. There are many factors

affecting the employee marketplace, such as the UK’s ageing

workforce and the need for appropriate skills and qualifications.

These factors may contribute to future skills shortages as they

reduce the pool of suitably qualified candidates that the oil & gas

sector can recruit from. OPITO has published a Labour Market

Intelligence survey which analyses the current skills situation within

the industry. This can be found at http://www.opito.com/uk/library

/documentlibrary/Labour_Market_Intelligence_Survey_Report.pdf.

This can be used as a workforce planning tool to identify future skills

needs. In order to address these needs, the industry works closely

with schools, colleges and universities to inform and influence pupil/

student subject choices, in an attempt to widen the pool of talent.

As a technology led business, the oil and gas industry is constantly

changing and developing with roles following suit. However, attracting

employees with the desired skills and abilities can be challenging

across the sector. Increasingly oil is located in deeper waters and with

this comes the challenge of accessing pipelines and structures safely.

The role of Divers is now supplemented by the use of Remotely

Operated Vehicles (ROV’s) for tasks including the inspection of

pipelines and in continuing maintenance. The operation and control of

ROV’s requires specialist skills and knowledge at both Technician and

Graduate level.

Companies require skilled people, in both on and offshore roles, in

order to extract oil & gas safely, whilst acting environmentally

responsible and remaining profitable. Companies within the industry

often employ contractors to fill specific short-term roles. This is often

the case when there is a need to manage increased production

levels or when the use of specialist equipment is required.

Workforce planning is an important tool in this situation. Companies

need to ensure the required skills are not already available through

salaried staff before hiring contractors for the specific role.

Examples of jobs roles within the oil & gas industry (see OPITO’s Edition

15 case study for details on the different sectors of the industry)

As the oil & gas industry locates and explores previously challenging

reservoirs, innovative technology is at the forefront. This is an

integral part of a number of roles ranging from drilling to seismic

interpretation. In order to keep pace with these advances a diverse

range of core skills and competences are fundamental.

In order to remain profitable and competitive the commercial angle

must be considered in conjunction with the technical advances.

Therefore within a project team a combination of both technical

and commercial disciplines work closely together to ensure the

project is viable. This may include Geologists, Seismologists,

Accountants, Lawyers, Engineers and Analysts.

Functions of an organisation

The range of roles and departments within the industry, and within

individual organisations, means that they must be divided into

specialised functions in order to work effectively. There are several

ways of doing this. For example, if the company is national or

international it may be divided geographically, national companies

may then be split by region whilst international companies may

be split by continent. Some organisations within the industry

divide the company

by processes; such

as exploration,

production and

refining. However

most organisations

use a combination of

factors to divide the

company up to ensure

maximum efficiency.

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Business objectives: The specificgoals that organisations or individualsseek to achieve.

Competences: The ability of anindividual or an organisation to performa particular type of task to a standard.

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Direct Exploration& Production(Primary sector)

Geologist

Chemist

Structural Designer

Direct ServicesSupport

Chef

Medic

Health & SafetyAdvisor

Commercial &Support Services(Tertiary sectorserving primarysector activity)

Accountant

Lawyer

Graphic Designer

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reporting to a manager.Hierarchy: An organisational structurearranged by levels of seniority with achain of command down whichdecisions are passed.

Chain of command: The stagesthrough which orders are passed downthe levels in an organisational hierarchye.g. directors, regional managers,branch managers, shop floor assistants.

The range of functions and associated areas are varied, yet some

are common to companies across the sector:

• technical – includes a range of engineering disciplines, as well

as geoscientists and designers

• science – monitoring the environment, locating reservoirs and

appraising wells

• health & safety – ensures the working environment is safe for

employees in both the office and offshore environments

• commercial – includes marketing, logistics, accounts and law

• human resources – responsible for employees training and

welfare.

There are a variety of routes into the industry. These include

apprenticeships, university and college as well as from other

trades and professions. OPITO run a highly successful Technician

Training Scheme. The scheme trains apprentices in electrical,

mechanical, process and instrument & control disciplines

commonly used across the industry. As part of the four year

scheme an apprentice trains for two years at college before

gaining two years of practical experience. Apprenticeships allow

trainees to earn throughout their training while gaining relevant

qualifications and experience in their chosen field.

Roles and responsibilities

To ensure employees work as efficiently as possible it is importantto have clearly defined job roles and responsibilities. This isparticularly important in large firms to ensure no part of theworkload is overlooked. In smaller organisations job roles may beless structured as employees may be required to take on a varietyof tasks and responsibilities.

Clear job descriptions and personal remits enable workers tofocus on their job-specific tasks. It allows employees to prioritisetheir workload and reduce the chance of work duplication. In theoffshore environment, where safety is a key priority, defined rolesand responsibilities ensure that workers are competent andqualified for the tasks they undertake.

The roles and responsibilities of each worker are overseen bysupervisors, team leaders and managers. The number of workersthat the supervisor is responsible for is called a span of control.The span of control will become wider as the number ofemployees being supervised increases. For example, an OffshoreInstallation Manager (OIM) is responsible for the complete runningof the rig/platform and is accountable for the health and safety ofeveryone on-board. This means the OIM has a large span ofcontrol. However, a Tool Pusher, the department head in chargeof the Drilling and Deck Crews, is accountable for the drilling staffand as such has a smaller span of control.

To allow for the supervision and management of workersorganisations are divided by layers as well as department orfunctions. The smallest layer at the top of the organisationalstructure has more responsibility and accountability than the largerlayers at the bottom. This forms an organisations hierarchy. Ahierarchy establishes a chain of command. This allowsinformation to be communicated from one layer of the organisationto the next. This information will pass through the span of control ineach layer. An example of this is when important safety informationis passed from the OIM, down through the hierarchy to theTechnicians. All job roles, from geological exploration to humanresources, will fall within a hierarchy.

Control RoomOperators

PlantOperators

ElectricalTechnicians

InstrumentTechnicians

MaintenanceTechnicians

ElectricalTechnicians

InstrumentTechnicians

SupportTechnicians

Specialist EqTechnicians

DrillCrew

DeckCrew

Medic SafetyAdvisor

OperationTeam Leader

MaintenanceTeam Leader Tool Pusher

Offshore Installation ManagerExample of an offshore organisational hierarchy

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Roles within the oil & gas industry

Kirsty, an Administration Assistant is just starting her career in the

oil & gas industry. Kirsty joined a contracting company straight

from school and recommends the industry as a great place to

work. Since joining the company she has begun a business and

administration course. The course is funded by her employers and

gives her the opportunity to widen her knowledge and develop her

skills. It will allow Kirsty to work towards promotion to a

supervisory role. In her current role Kirsty’s main responsibilities

are liaising with customers, organising meetings and booking

travel arrangements for managers.

David is a Reservoir Management Geologist working for a multi-

national exploration and production company. David joined the

industry 15 years ago, after leaving his career as a pilot and

completing a master’s degree at university. David’s role includes

supervising a small team to build and maintain field reservoir

models. It also involves supervising interactions with other

organisational functions such as ‘Well Planning’ to advise on the

placement of new wells, which allow the oil to be extracted.

Although David’s role as a supervisor throws up challenges he

feels he is well rewarded with a good salary and work/life balance.

This allows him to provide a secure future for his family.

Mark has held a number of offshore positions during his 28 years

in the industry. He began as an OPITO apprentice on the

Technician Training Scheme, where he spent two years at college

and gave him a further 2 years on the job experience. Mark now

holds one of the most responsible jobs in the industry as an OIM,

based on a North Sea platform. He is accountable for 120 people

working on the platform and has an operating budget of around

£60 million.

Whilst progressing through the industry he has gained lots of

practical experiences and qualifications including an SVQ in

supervisory management and management of major emergencies

course. Mark enjoys the variety of his role as an OIM and is

looking forward to continuing his career offshore for many years to

come. Career progression at this level would mean moving to an

onshore role.

Conclusion

Organisations within the oil & gas industry seek to extract

resources efficiently, safely and profitably to serve world markets.

To do this OPITO have developed standards which help to ensure

processes meet these requirements. The industry requires

talented and competent employees to ensure these standards are

maintained. In order to do this, as well as employing directly, the

industry often works with a number of contractors when specialist

tasks or increased production demands it.

The industry supports many diverse roles. Not all roles within the

industry require technical or scientific skills. Commercial skills are

also essential for many of the roles based onshore. OPITO helps

to support the industry through its role in workforce planning and

skills development, helping to attract the next generation of the oil

& gas workforce.

The rate of change within the industry is likely to increase over

the next 50 years as the industry extracts oil from ever more

challenging reservoirs in the North Sea and across the world.

To contend with this rate of change, individuals will have the

opportunity to develop new skills and competencies as they

engage in the process of lifelong learning. OPITO’s role ensures

that the oil & gas industry is capable of meeting future demands.

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Lifelong learning: Continuous andongoing building of skills and knowledgethroughout life.

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QU

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1. Using an example, describe what is meant by ‘lifelong

learning’.

2. Explain the difference between core skills and

competences.

3. How do the roles of accounting, human resource

management and engineering each contribute to the

processes that satisfy customer requirements in the oil

and gas industry?

4. Why does the oil and gas industry need so many

diverse roles?

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