Meeting the Future Technical Training Challenges of a Changing Workforce By Dr. Stewart W. Behie, Mr. Matthew K. Henwood, Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation

The workforce of the future will be dramatically different from that of today in several significant ways. In order to be successful in attracting and retaining technical staff in the future, Companies will have to gain an in-depth technical understanding of this workforce and be prepared to meet these needs and requirements starting now. By 2025, it is reported that seventy-five percent of the workforce will be Millennials with their unique perspectives on the workplace, workplace interactions and their place in society. In addition, the recent advances in neurological sciences has provided insight into the functioning of the brain, on how we learn and process information and how we assimilate knowledge. The recently developed insights into the development phases of the adolescent brain will also have to be considered in future training and development programs given that Company’s will be relying on younger professionals to lead them into this uncertain future. All of these factors must be appreciated if Companies are to attract and retain talented staff. Training and development programs will become a differentiator among companies in the future. 

This changing workplace profile will be taking place within a looming manpower shortage and crisis in all technical skills areas ⁽¹⁾. For example, high and very high skills gaps are predicted to occur in many developed countries including those in North America in engineering and construction starting as early as 2020 ⁽²⁾. To be successful in this changing world, Companies have to meet the additional challenges of developing and promoting new approaches to attract and retain the dwindling technical resource of the future. These approaches could include a range of considerations such as: promoting virtual internships and work schemes; developing innovative ways to integrate HR into corporate strategy development; creating growth opportunities to retain staff; extending employment opportunities for woman and older employees on their terms; and fostering talent mobility. All of these initiatives, in and of themselves, will present substantial challenges particularly in face of the recent trend towards nationalization and away from globalization.

This paper will examine all of these factors and discuss ways to use these insights to optimize learning processes and customize training programs to match the needs and requirements of the future workforce. This paper will suggest novel approaches to training, skill set development and competency assessment. Finally, this paper will profile one Company’s approach to understanding the changing future workforce and reflecting this knowledge in technical training, skills set development and competency assessments in order to maintain a position as a leader in the oil and gas section through innovation, integrity and prudent investment. The challenges of the future are many and will only be met by those who understand them and put in place plans to address them.

References:

1.  “Stimulating Economies through Fostering Talent Mobility”, World Economic Forum in 2010.

2. “Global Talent Risk – Seven Responses”, World Economic Forum in 2011

3. “The Coming Neurological Epidemic”, Gregory Petsko, Arthur J. Mahon Professor of Neuroscience, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, TED talk, February 2008.

4.  “How Great Leaders inspire action”, TED Talk by Simon Sinek, filmed Sept 2009

5. “The Myth of the Teen Brain”, Robert Epstein, Scientific American, April / May 2007

6. “The Amazing Teen Brain”, Jay N. Giedd, Scientific American, June 2015

7. “The mysterious workings of the adolescence brain” Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, TED talk, filmed June 2012

8. “The Learning Brain, Lessons for Education”, Sarah Jayne Blakemore and Uta Frith, Blackwell Publishing, 2005

9.  “The Neurons That Shaped Civilization”, Vilayanur Ramachandran, TED India Talk, filmed November 2009.

10. “Growing Evidence of Brain Plasticity”, Michael Merzenich, TED Talk, filmed February 2004

11. “Three Clues to Understanding Your Brain”, Vilayanur Ramachandran, TED Talk, filmed March 2007