Summary

This blog highlights the importance of effective corporate training in the oil and gas sector, emphasizing tech-enabled, customized solutions to address skills gaps and adapt to industry changes.

Today, oil and gas, like many sectors, face an acute skills gap. In the United States, approximately 400,000 employees in the Oil and Gas sector will retire within the next 10 years. In this scenario, companies must be prepared to hire and train talent with the wide range of skills required to thrive in a fast-evolving business landscape.

Yet, many businesses continue to face challenges in upskilling their workforce. They especially struggle with skilling younger generations, who seek interactive, virtual learning experiences. In this blog, we explain why it is important for businesses to choose their corporate training partner effectively and explore how oil and gas training programs must adapt to contemporary learning trends.

Table of Contents:

Oil and Gas Training Programs – An Overview

The oil and gas sector is rapidly changing, making it more challenging for businesses to keep their workforce updated in terms of skills and knowledge. Here is a snapshot of key changes:

1. Stronger Regulations

The regulatory bodies governing the sector are strengthening the guidelines. They are also moving to enforce them stringently. Hence, businesses must ensure that employees are up-to-date in their understanding of compliance.

2. Shift to Green Practices

All businesses are expected to increase investments in developing environmentally relevant practices. By 2023, the World Economic Forum’s Reskilling Revolution initiative, for instance, aims to train over 200 million people to be equipped for green jobs.

3. Multi-Skilled Workforce

Oil and gas employees need to cultivate a mix of technical expertise and soft skills. These comprise petroleum engineering and technical skills (25%), instrumentation and control systems (15%), communication skills (20%), problem-solving skills (15%), industry regulations (10%) and safety protocols (15%).

4. Adoption of Digital Technologies

By 2027, a growing number of oil and gas companies are expected to adopt four types of digital technologies comprising user and entity big data analytics (87%), the Internet of Things (IoT) (83%), cloud computing (78%), and wearable electronics (70%).

Growing Relevance of Workforce Learning Solutions

With such sweeping changes taking place in the Oil and Gas industry, businesses must invest in the right workforce learning solutions partner. The key shifts in expectation must be as follows:

1. Tech-Enabled Solutions

A partner with a superior oil and gas training program must be equipped with agile cloud-based solutions. For instance, an AI-powered, cloud-based learning management system can help companies scale up training operations quickly while driving better learning outcomes.

2. End-to-End Digitization

Superior solutions reduce dependency upon human facilitators and investment in physical logistics. The entire learning process is conducted online, and lessons are designed using a modular presentation. This type of online corporate training aligns with ongoing trends such as micro-learning, self-learning, and engaged learning.

3. Customized Training Solutions

A one-size-fits-all training solution for oil and gas cannot address companies’ diverse challenges and needs. On the other hand, a superior partner offers customized training solutions that deliver cost-effective and relevant training options tailored to a company’s budget and needs.

Also Read: 7 Benefits of Using AR and VR Technology in Employee Training

6 Pillars of Agile Oil and Gas Corporate Training Solutions

Businesses looking to engineer workforce transformation must focus on the following aspects of training programs:

1. Develop a Relevant Curriculum

Businesses must cultivate a thorough understanding of employee competency levels and align them with the demands of the industry. Businesses can conduct surveys, interviews, and other techniques to execute a data-driven needs and tasks assessment. Identifying the gaps can pave the way for relevant curriculum design and development.

2. Automate the Entire Training Process

Businesses looking to scale their training operations must automate the entire process. On the other hand, smaller business operations can reap the benefits of automation. They can run successful, cost-effective training using lean teams.

3. Build a Digital Library of Superior On-Demand Resources

Oil and gas businesses must invest in building robust digital libraries that provide easy access to on-demand resources 24/7, helping nurture a lifelong learning culture. For instance, adopting a cloud-based Learning Management System (LMS) enables businesses to create, publish, store, and distribute multi-format, accessible learning material securely, seamlessly, and cost-effectively. A well-equipped digital library forms the backbone of any superior training framework.

4. Design and Deliver Personalized Learning Pathways

Today, training programs are moving away from the one-size-fits-all learning pathway. For real transformation and better learning outcomes, businesses must consider making the paradigm shift towards personalized learning pathways. For instance, employees undergoing compliance training in oil and gas can learn the same subject differently based on their proficiency levels, learning schedules, and preferences. Introducing gamification elements such as challenges and rewards can further increase employees’ engagement and motivation levels in their learning journey.

5. Introduce Live Simulations

Building practical skills and knowledge is an important aspect of thriving in a competitive business world. Many employees are thrown into the deep end without access to proper skilling. This approach can result in financial and reputational consequences such as fines and penalties. Instead, businesses can simulate live environments using technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and leverage them as learning tools. For instance, a company can run safety simulations in varied conditions, enabling employees to practice in a controlled environment.

6. Leverage Data-Driven Decision Making

Advances in AI-powered predictive analytics enable businesses to make data-driven decisions at every juncture of the training process. They can leverage data to understand engagement levels and employee progress. They can also predict how employees will perform in different conditions and how their progress can be accelerated.

Also Read: A Step-by-Step Guide to Automated Employee Development

Conclusion

In a disruptive market, the quality of oil and gas training programs will help businesses stay relevant. A superior training partner must deliver on the following pillars: cloud-based, AI-powered solutions, end-to-end digitization of training, and customized training solutions.

If your organization is looking for a high-impact training partner, superior technology can increase efficiency and scalability. Hurix Digital has the technology solutions and expertise to help businesses achieve these goals.