Career Awareness Program

Background

One of the ongoing human resources issues we are currently working toward solving is the need to educate the public about careers within the oil and gas industry, and determining the best ways to promote opportunities to job seekers. Our Career Awareness Program focuses on sharing career information with traditional and under-represented groups across the country via the Careers in Oil and Gas website, exhibitions and events, and distributing promotional information.

The development of Careers in Oil and Gas was directed and funded by key stakeholders within the upstream segment of the industry. The Careers website is the result of many months of work and collaboration among eight key partners:

  • The Petroleum HR Council
  • Enform
  • Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)
  • Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC)
  • Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC)
  • Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (SEPAC)
  • Canadian Energy Pipelines Associations (CEPA)
  • Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractors (CAGC)

 

About Career Awareness

Developed for Canadian audiences, the Careers website provides a wealth of information on career options and the world of work within the Canadian petroleum industry. More specifically, the website:

  • Describes the oil and gas industry and how its different sectors work together.
  • Explains the steps the industry takes to keep its operations as safe and clean as possible.
  • Describes what it's like to work in the industry and profiles employees in different roles.
  • Details hundreds of career opportunities available within the industry.
  • Introduces education and training needs and programs for various careers.
  • Connects job seekers with industry employers advertising on the site.

We work to promote the industry and its career and training opportunities at career fairs, trade fairs and information sessions across Canada. To see where we'll be next, please view our Calendar of Events. We have also developed promotional brochures for diverse audiences, including:

  • Youth
  • Immigrants
  • Aboriginals
  • Women
  • Job Seekers
  • Career Influencers

 

Project Results

The Council has attended over 28 career and trade fairs and our team of facilitators have presented the workshop to over 500 career counsellors, practitioners, young people, teachers and job seekers in the last two years.

In March and April of 2009, the Council launched its first ever marketing campaign to promote Careers in Oil and Gas as a central source of information on potential oil and gas careers. The campaign called "Smudges", ran in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and was aimed at youth aged 18 to 24. With a combination of billboards, ads in entertainment magazines, campus papers and online ads, the campaign made a local impact in Toronto and surrounding areas in Ontario.

  • Since its launch in November 2007, site traffic has grown 94%.
  • On average, the site welcomes close to 15,000 total visitors every month, from around the world.
  • Top tier site found in online searches for oil and gas careers, as ranked by the most popular search engines (Google, MSN and Yahoo).
  • All of the major petroleum industry associations, in addition to various companies, educational institutions, libraries, community and economic development organizations, government departments and job search sites, link directly to the Careers in Oil and Gas website.
  • In June 2008, the website was awarded Top HR Initiative at the Energy TV Awards.

New content and resources are being added daily, including Day in the Life career profiles highlighting real people with real jobs in the petroleum sector. The Careers website is the central information resource portal for career opportunities, education and professional growth in the Canadian oil and gas sector.

Organizations interested in advertising on the Careers website can find more information online or by emailing info@careersinoilandgas.com.

To find out more about our Career Awareness Program contact Breanne O'Reilly, Marketing and Communications Specialist at 403-516-8116 or boreilly@petrohrsc.ca.

 

Additional Resources