Pandemic Led To Crisis Of Confidence Among Oil Workers

The 2020 oil crisis has led to a crisis of confidence among the global workforce in the oil and gas industry, where 78 percent of professionals are now less secure in their jobs than they were a year ago, the fifth annual Global Energy Talent Index (GETI) showed on Tuesday.

According to the report by Airswift and Energy Jobline on job trends in the energy sector, hiring managers share the concerns of employees in the oil and gas industry—77 percent of hiring managers feel that their employees’ jobs are less secure than they were last year.

For the first time in the five years of the GETI report, more oil and gas workers have reported a fall in pay (29 percent) rather than an increase (28 percent) over the past year, according to the survey of 16,000 energy professionals and hiring managers in 166 countries.

Yet, nearly half, or 49 percent, expect pay rises over the next year, compared to 18 percent who see further pay cuts down the road.

Advancement in career is the biggest incentive to relocate for oil and gas professionals, 89 percent of whom would consider moving to another region because of their job, the survey found.  

The oil and gas sector continues to face competition from renewables and petrochemicals for attracting talent, with 50 percent of oil and gas workers open to switch sectors to renewable energy, the GETI report found.

Related: India Oil Demand Falls For First Time In 20 Years Due To COVID

“Oil and gas employers may forgive themselves a little self-doubt, but reasons for cautious optimism remain. Technology represents a clear opportunity but so could the energy transition, if handled with care. And let’s not forget that the workforce still has faith that growth – and rising remuneration – will return,” Josh Young, Director at Energy Jobline, said, commenting on the report.

Over the past year, the oil and gas industry has lost thousands of jobs, as major companies moved to cut expenses and cut workforce numbers, while oilfield services companies laid off workers as their work reduced.

In the United States alone, the oilfield services sector had lost a total of 82,811 jobs due to the pandemic-related demand destruction as of December 2020, the Petroleum Equipment & Services Association (PESA) said in an analysis on Monday. The good news in PESA’s employment report for December was that the oilfield services sector added an estimated 4,592 jobs in December, the fourth consecutive month of rising employment numbers.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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