Petrochemical
Petrochemicals Workforce
Development
Petrochemicals Workforce
Development
Introduction
The North American petrochemical industry can be said to be currently enjoying something of a renaissance. With natural gas prices currently low, and looking set to remain that way due to abundant domestic shale supply, companies and investors are putting up billions of dollars for construction, expansion and export projects across the US and
Canada.
One real hotspot for such activity can be found on the Gulf Coast, with
Texas and Louisiana seeing a massive increase in investment. The result of this boom, however, is that in Louisiana alone, tens of thousands of skilled craftspeople will be needed to complete current and future projects – and there may not be enough trained manpower available to fill those roles. The industry is also faced with an ageing workforce
– the majority of the workforce, in fact, will be nearing retirement age over the next decade.
In order to make sure that this current gap does not turn into a future shortage, then, it will be necessary to recruit and train a huge number of people both on the Gulf Coast and across the country as a whole.
There is still work to be done to ensure that this can happen, however.
Industry needs to work in tandem with educators and government to make sure that new entrants get the basic training they need. But again, in order for that to happen, the requisite number of people must be convinced that a career as a pipefitter or welder is a worthwhile choice to make – something that in the past has perhaps not been easy.
Here, we talked to five industry players who gave us their opinions on the future of workforce development for the petrochemicals industry.
Speaking from a variety of perspectives, from industry to government and education, they explain the challenges faced by companies looking to recruit for new projects over the coming years, and how they believe a critical shortage of trained workers can be avoided. They
Development
Petrochemicals Workforce
Development
Introduction
The North American petrochemical industry can be said to be currently enjoying something of a renaissance. With natural gas prices currently low, and looking set to remain that way due to abundant domestic shale supply, companies and investors are putting up billions of dollars for construction, expansion and export projects across the US and
Canada.
One real hotspot for such activity can be found on the Gulf Coast, with
Texas and Louisiana seeing a massive increase in investment. The result of this boom, however, is that in Louisiana alone, tens of thousands of skilled craftspeople will be needed to complete current and future projects – and there may not be enough trained manpower available to fill those roles. The industry is also faced with an ageing workforce
– the majority of the workforce, in fact, will be nearing retirement age over the next decade.
In order to make sure that this current gap does not turn into a future shortage, then, it will be necessary to recruit and train a huge number of people both on the Gulf Coast and across the country as a whole.
There is still work to be done to ensure that this can happen, however.
Industry needs to work in tandem with educators and government to make sure that new entrants get the basic training they need. But again, in order for that to happen, the requisite number of people must be convinced that a career as a pipefitter or welder is a worthwhile choice to make – something that in the past has perhaps not been easy.
Here, we talked to five industry players who gave us their opinions on the future of workforce development for the petrochemicals industry.
Speaking from a variety of perspectives, from industry to government and education, they explain the challenges faced by companies looking to recruit for new projects over the coming years, and how they believe a critical shortage of trained workers can be avoided. They