With the oil and gas industry booming once again, and the demand for skilled workers rising, many universities and trade schools are offering educational programs to inform both students and the general public about the industry and available jobs.
Washington State Community College hosted an “Oil and Gas Meet and Greet” for the first time recently, which garnered a great deal of interest in a state where the industry is just beginning to take hold. Local industry employers participated in the meet and greet, introducing the students and potential employees to the kinds of jobs that need to be filled.
Said Brenda Kornmiller, Dean of Business Engineering and Industrial Technologies, “We are focused on the oil and gas industry and the jobs coming into the area with it . . . It is coming our way – part of it is already here – and we want to be ready for it when it reaches the Mid-Ohio Valley.”
Educational programs like the one at Washington State Community College are popping up across the country as oil and gas companies continue to expand and create jobs. According to a hiring survey of industry recruiters conducted by Rigzone, forty-eight percent of hiring managers anticipate a hiring increase over the next six months. It is worth noting that eight of the top ten positions will be engineers – with the most in-demand being mechanical engineers. Mechanical engineers in the oil and gas industry bring in an average salary of $102,095 which is up by three percent since 2011. The same survey also showed that companies have difficulty finding workers for all the available positions – 71% of respondents said that this was due to difficulty in finding qualified applicants.
And the oil and gas industry is not just for men anymore – Rigzone’s survey also showed that nearly half of the new jobs in the oil industry over the last year went to women in a variety of positions across the industry. CNN Money reports, “While some women may actually be working on the most physical jobs on a rig—the roustabouts or roughnecks that muscle drill pipe into place and perform other manual tasks—Rigzone President Paul Caplan thinks nearly half the women in the oil industry are taking [on other jobs] like technicians, geologists or petroleum engineers.”
In a press statement, Stag Energy Services conveys, “Americans have become attracted to the oil and gas industries, simply because of the availability of jobs. However, those who are selective of their opportunities may now discover that there are industry careers that specialize in virtually every type of skills, from physical labor to scientific to creative.”
The time is clearly ripe for employment in the oil and gas industry, and employers are looking for skilled, qualified candidates. Don’t miss out on the opportunities available as the oil and gas industry is booming. If you are seeking employment, see our job listings page for opportunities available in the Gulf South and beyond. There is a lot of money to be made in this growing industry – will you be a part of the boom?
