Education and careers tee off at OE 2005

News - April 29, 2005

The impressive list of names from the global upstream industry eager to take part in Offshore Europe 2005 keeps growing - with recruitment and bridging the skills gap a key issue for all those attending the show.After a successful Offshore Europe 2003, it was calculated that up to 10,000 of the total 26,337 attendees stopped at the OILCAREERFAIR booth. High numbers are expected once again as this vital recruitment tool makes a welcome return to OE 2005.Frederik Rengers, Vice President OILCAREERFAIR, said: "The large oil and gas shows are a very suitable venue because of the very large number of attendants, ranging from experienced professionals to students. Companies like it because they can meet 'thehard to find' candidate because of the high caliber people attending the shows. Moreover, it gives companies a unique opportunity to brand themselves as a key employer."Malaysia's Petronas Carigali and Denmark's Maersk Oil & Gas are already signed up to participate in Aberdeen, with existing customers including majors such as Shell and ChevronTexaco, as well as contracting giants like Schlumberger and Halliburton.OILCAREERFAIR has a dedicated web site, www.oilcareerfair.com, allowing widespread branding and early contacts. During OE 2005, companies looking for people can set up a recruitment booth in the OILCAREERFAIR area and either interview or communicate withthe thousands of oil and gas professionals that will be visiting the show.At present OILCAREERFAIR says the market has a major demand for reservoir engineers and geoscientists, although numerous vacancies for a whole range of oil industry positions are also available. This essential event will be handily located next to the Digital Energy Zone, an evolution of the hugely popular Real Time Zone of OE 2003.Some 651 companies have signed up as main exhibitors and with 99% of all floor space already sold, OE 2005 looks set to be another major crowd puller for delegates from across the world, underlining the show's increasing global reach.Industry majors including BP, Shell, Total E&P UK, ConocoPhillips, Gazprom and Petroleum de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) are all confirmed as exhibitors, maintaining the show's standing as a 'must attend' event.Big hitters from the contracting community include Halliburton, Schlumberger, Wood Group, Aker Kvaerner, AMEC, ADTI (Global SantaFe), Maersk Contractors, ABB, Enventure Global Technology and Vetco Gray, according to show organisers The Offshore Europe Partnership.The conference, with a theme of 'Managing Mature Production: A Global Challenge', will also offer a top quality line-up of people and a fine array of topical subjects, while boasting the much respected Chairman and CEO of Schlumberger, Andrew Gould, as chairman.OE 2005 is also pleased to be hosting another Education Day on Friday 9th September at the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre (AECC) in conjunction with Cogent.This scheme is a vital component in bridging the skills gap in the upstream sector and also of introducing new people to the industry. Students from secondary schools benefit from a programme of speakers from the upstream oil and gas community, who sharetheir wealth of knowledge to the industry's future employees. Key exhibitors get involved offering tours of their stands, talks and demonstrations, all of which help to educate and highlight career opportunities in this field. The event is a great opportunity for potential employers as well as employees to get noticed and build relationships with schools and individuals.Nik Rudge, Project Director, OE 2005, commented: "Both the OILCAREERFAIR and Education Day demonstrate that OE 2005 is as much about the people and the E&P community as the technology. The greatest challenge facing the industry is the attraction and retention of talented staff and so it is vital that OE continues to act as a hub where people can meet and discuss these issues. The petroleum industry is rightly proud of its technology solutions, but without the human factor, it would mean nothing."He added: "Education Day is a wonderful opportunity to show an already engaged audience of secondary school students, what a truly vibrant and exciting industry the petroleum industry is. The chance to meet young engineers, hear of their experience and actually see the diverse and incredible technology on the exhibition floor is of tremendous value. More and more exhibitors are volunteering to help with Education Day as they see the value it brings, not only to OE 2005 but also to the whole E&P community."