Australia must work harder to build local oil and gas talent, according to Industry Snapshot Poll.
Delegates at the 2012 Australasian Oil and Gas Conference have warned that Australia needs to do more to grow its own oil and gas talent, according to a poll conducted by GL Noble Denton.
Oil and gas professionals have called for Australia to do more to build local industry talent, as the country struggles with an increasing shortage of skilled professionals. According to a poll conducted yesterday at the Australasian Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (AOG) in Perth, 68% of industry professionals think that Australia invest more in developing a local skills base, while 32% thought that the country is doing enough to increase the pool of local professionals.
The Industry Snapshot Poll was conducted by global independent technical advisor GL Noble Denton on the second day of AOG, which is expected to attract more than 11,000 industry professionals from across the world. The result of the poll follows the publication of a new GL Noble Denton-commissioned Economist Intelligence Unit report* on the outlook for the oil and gas industry, which estimates that there will be a shortage of 150,000 people needed to develop projects in Western Australia by 2015.
Richard Palmer, GL Noble Denton’s country manager for Australia, said: “The Australian oil and gas industry continues to grow at pace, as does concern over where the skilled professionals required to meet the demands of new projects will come from. It is clear that we need to work together more cohesively to help educate emerging young talent on the benefits of joining a thriving local industry.”
GL Noble Denton is conducting three Industry Snapshot Polls this week, one for each full day of AOG. Delegates are also being asked to vote on whether Australia will become the world’s largest gas exporter by 2013 and if increased regulation would damage prospects for new oil and gas projects in the Asia Pacific region. To participate in the poll, visit GL Noble Denton at stand number K32. Participants will be entered into a prize draw to win an iPad 2 at the end of the show.
The results of the polls will be available after the conference from: www.gl-nobledenton.com <http://www.gl-nobledenton.com>