JOHN T. GREMP, President and CEO, FMC Technologies, and Chairman, Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association

In early October, 25 companies descended on Beeville, Texas, with hopes of recruiting 900 new workers to satisfy the growing boom in the Eagle Ford shale. This was but one of several job fairs held in South Texas in the past year, and more are held regularly in other boom spots including Wyoming, North Dakota, Canada and the US Northeast.

As our industry continues to grow in a post-downturn environment, short-term hiring challenges like those in the Eagle Ford will continue. Some would argue that the pain of expanding our businesses is a nice problem to have following 2008 and 2009. But I think it underscores and foreshadows the looming talent issue.

“The big crew change” is still coming. The average age of workers across all sectors of the industry is about 50—and there is a shortage of mid-career employees to take the helm as this older generation retires. Our younger generation has had to take on greater responsibilities and more senior roles than would have been typical in an ideal workforce. So far, this younger generation has been successful in their accelerated roles.

We not only have to backfill our current generation but also create the mid-career employment pool missing from our industry for 20 years. Furthermore, we must hire in the midst of a reputation crisis; despite the high pay and challenging work, too few graduates seek oil and gas as a first or even second choice.

What can be done? The problem is far too large for any single company to handle. The entire industry—manufacturers, service providers and producers—must come together to find an answer. One solution is to engage trade associations. Nearly every company in the oil and gas business belongs to one or more associations. Some are large, some small, but all give their members a strong regional or national voice with which to support the industry as a whole.

The Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association (PESA), for one, is working to solve the problem on multiple fronts via our Energy Educators Committee. The association’s education outreach began in earnest several years ago, and has ramped up with each succeeding year.

One of PESA’s largest efforts, a collaboration with the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), encourages high school students to enter the oil and gas industry through three Petroleum Academies in Houston—Milby, Westside and Lamar High Schools—all focused on a math and science curriculum.

Throughout the year, PESA and IPAA provide dozens of guest lecturers to each of the schools in nearly every business discipline. Engineers, geoscientists and other experts from member companies volunteer a few hours each to discuss their expertise and experience.

For three weeks this summer, 62 Petroleum Academy students worked as externs with industry companies, attending executive meetings, testing equipment, learning new technology and essentially getting a preview of working in the industry. Upon completion of the program, the externs each received a $1,000 scholarship from the companies where they worked. Afterward, each of the 62 students verified his or her career path—oil and gas.

The Petroleum Academies, of course, are just one of PESA and IPAA’s educational programs; both organizations sponsor countless lectures, discussions and presentations at all levels of education year round. And while the Academies are truly a remarkable platform for reaching the future of our industry, they’re only in one city so far. But I think they offer a blueprint of how associations, backed by their member companies, can make a difference.

Your turn. The problem of recruiting young students into the industry, as many see it, is one of perception; oil and gas has a reputation as an environmentally unfriendly and unchallenging career. While we know reality to be 180° from that sentiment, we need to spread the word.

An effective means of changing a student’s mind is for him or her to simply meet someone from the industry—someone who can relay what it’s like to be a part of the one of the most technologically advanced industries in the world. The work being done in Houston schools is the perfect opportunity to place a lot more faces in front of students. Imagine the effect this could have if done nationwide.

However, these programs are successful only with the support of industry companies and their employees. No matter where you live, no matter what level you’ve attained in your career, the future of our industry depends on each of us to take the initiative and participate in local education.

Getting involved with education need not be especially time consuming. Many of PESA’s volunteers commit to a few hours per school year. Nor is supporting education a public-speaking-only role. Should you have videos, animations or photos that help show oil and gas for the dynamic career it is, many schools would like to use them; just give your trade association a call and the staff will make it happen.

No matter how you choose to support education, remember you’re supporting the future of our industry. The work you do now could influence one young person to choose a career in energy, which means one less person needed at events like the job fair in Beeville.