Surging demand for oil and natural gas will see an influx in investment and rise in activity across 2011, creating an increase in global hiring, a report said.

The joint report entitled ‘The Global Oil & Gas Workforce Survey’ from OilCareers.com, the international jobs board for the oil and gas industry, in association with partner Air Energi, a global provider of manpower solutions to the energy sector, focuses on employment and salary trends in the energy sector.

“Expectations for hires and pay rates in the oil and gas industry addresses the issues likely to affect the oil and gas industry across the second half of 2011,’ the report said.

While the ‘great crew change’ remains high on the agenda, the familiar focus on recruitment and retention will be joined by a third component, training, it added.

Emerging technologies and increasingly technical offshore and deepwater plays in relatively remote corners of the world will demand the very best of project teams and workforces.

Companies are being encouraged to co-operate in the sharing of knowledge, resources and best practice as the industry enters a new era of energy production.

Hires across Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Australasia, Caspian, Europe and the Middle East are expected to increase with specific demand for LNG and engineering expertise most prevalent.

The energy industry has faced challenges this year, from mounting political tension in the Caspian and Middle East regions, a track record of poor infrastructure in Africa (despite the region’s tremendous potential scope for exploration and production) and natural disasters in South America and the Asia Pacific regions.

However, a more resilient economy and high global demand has seen a continued increase in momentum worldwide, according to the report.

The Middle East continues to be an attractive region for candidates, particularly in stable Gulf countries including Qatar and the UAE. And even as the multi-billion dollar Iraqi market continues to open up, issues of safety and security has made candidates and companies hesitant to invest heavily in the country.

“Unequivocally, the major concern across the board is workforce, with rising activity creating demand for staff despite the challenges caused by political unrest, regulatory uncertainty and natural disasters across the first half of the year,” said Mark Guest, managing director of OilCareers.com.

“What is clear from this report is that the oil and gas industry needs to focus now on the future challenges it faces to ensure it is best placed to take advantage of the opportunities available.”

Langley, group executive chairman of Air Energi, said: “The Air Energi-OilCareers.com survey provides an indication of the trends that the industry can expect to see across the remainder of the year, with the focus on ensuring that optimization and quality of a worldwide workforce is maintained during a period of high turnover and stiff competition.”

“While we have observed several contingency plans being rolled out across some regions to ensure the requisite workforce is available, what is universal is that more needs to be done,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service