The oil and gas sector is facing a stiff competition in attracting young talent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) because Millennials and Generation Zs are most interested in jobs in an industry associated with new technologies, according to the “Workforce of the Future” survey commissioned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
A total of 44 percent of the polled 3,075 young STEM talent across 10 countries said that they would be interested in pursuing a career in oil and gas, compared to 77 percent in the technology sector, 58 percent in life sciences and pharmaceuticals, and 57 percent in healthcare, for example.
The survey of young STEM talent in the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Russia, China, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, showed that interest in a career in oil and gas is nearly on par with marketing and advertising (48 percent), hospitality (47 percent), transport/logistics (46 percent) and retail (41 percent).
The top five drivers for Millennials and Gen Zs career picks are “salary,” “work-life balance,” “job stability,” “on-the-job fulfilment,” and “a good work environment,” the survey showed.
The top three positive associations of the oil and gas sector among the 15-35 year-old STEM talent were “the industry pays well,” “the industry is crucial for their country’s economy and development,” and it is “an industry we couldn’t live without.”
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It comes as no surprise that Millennials and Gen Zs showed the highest interest in a career path in industries which they believe will be the most impacted by new technologies. Globally, 42 percent of the young talent polled said that new technologies would have a ‘major impact’ on the oil and gas industry, well below those who associate new technologies with a major impact in the technology industry—73 percent.
Nearly 3 in 4, or 72 percent, believe that new technologies will have an overall impact on the oil and gas sector, compared to 9 out of 10 for the technology sector.
Millennials and Gen Zs are divided, however, on whether oil and gas is an industry of the past or of the future—44 percent say it is an industry of the past, while 45 percent reckon it is of the future.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
