Energy services company PSN (Production Services Network) believes that the only way to secure the resources necessary to complete all of Australia’s liquefied natural gas, coal seam gas, and oil and gas projects is to ‘think differently’.

PSN CEO Bob Keiller highlighted the continuous war for talent as one of the petroleum sector’s biggest challenges when he spoke at the 2009 APPEA Conference in Darwin.

Mr Keiller said “Some global oil and gas projects are being deferred, but Australia still has significant projects on the drawing board, which require considerable numbers of skilled people.

“With the Australian Government forecasting a shortfall of 22,000 graduates by 2018, the answer for recruiting in the oil and gas sector is to think differently.”

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Mr Keiller believes that importing talent from overseas is not the entire answer to meeting Australia’s resourcing requirements.

“Talent is out there, it’s just in unusual places. Companies must look for people in industries like telecommunications, nuclear and the armed forces, which share synergies with the oil and gas industry.

“Many talented people in these industries run big teams and budgets, and tackle logistical, safety and human resources issues on a daily basis. Their skills are incredibly transferable and bring a fresh perspective to our industry.”

Speaking to Gas Today, Mr Keiller said “These are exciting times for the industry in Australia." However, with an increasing demand for skilled workers, the challenge is how to manage that demand when resource requirements cannot be met.

He says that managing them is, and will be, a balancing act. Companies may question whether to import resources for a job or export that work itself. The other challenge is balancing the resources required for short term work with longer term projects and a sustainable industry using local resources.

PSN believes localisation is the key to meeting demand and delivering talent. The company’s business is structured as a global network with teams in different countries operating with the same processes and bound by a common culture of helping each other.

“The answer to resourcing Australia up to meet its future demands for skilled gas recruits may very well lie in moving the work, not the workforce.”