Labour Market Transition

About LMT

It's true that the petroleum industry is currently in the midst of a slowdown. Recruitment and hiring has slowed or stalled as companies strive to get through the current fiscal climate. And while the need to recruit talent from a variety of labour pools may not be as acute today as it has been in the recent past, companies know that with an aging workforce and ever more technologically advanced processes, the need to grow the industry's pool of skilled workers continues. Further, industry knows from past experience that when a rebound occurs they need to be ready.

The Petroleum HR Council's Labour Market Transition (LMT) project aims to develop a strategic and coordinated approach to increase the petroleum industry's access to skilled and experienced workers made available as a result of downsizing within some key industries in Canada.

Phase 1

In June 2007, the Petroleum HR Council completed research to understand the opportunities, barriers and feasibility of easing short- and medium-term labour demands within the upstream petroleum industry by engaging workers from industries with an expected surplus labour supply.

This research gave the Council a solid understanding of:

• Industry's strengths and challenges regarding attracting workers downsized from other industries;
• Potential career matches for workers from forestry, transportation and chemical manufacturing into our industry's in-demand occupations; and
• Specific steps and efforts required to transition workers from these industries.

 

These findings are documented in the Petroleum Labour Market Transition Project: Coordinating the Connection between Downsized Workers and The Upstream Petroleum Industry - Final Report & Recommendations (PDF). In the report, the Council also proposed a Labour Market Transition service to industry utilizing the LMT process as a service delivery model.

Phase 2

In March 2008, LMT Phase 2 developed and piloted the Labour Market Transition service. The service is designed to provide information and assessments to petroleum companies about the transferability, readiness to transition, and mobility of workers from a specific downsizing situation into in-demand petroleum jobs. The service also provides value to downsizing situations by providing accurate information about the oil and gas industry and its careers, recruitment processes and HR practices.

Based on findings from the Phase 1 project and additional research conducted in Phase 2, the project focused on the BC forestry industry, particularly the pulp and paper sector.

Project Results

• Information sessions on Canada's petroleum industry presented to eight downsizing communities in BC.
• Research completed on:
  • In-demand occupations in the upstream petroleum industry;
  • Understanding the downsizing labour adjustment occurring in the forestry industry in British Columbia; and
  • Overall approach required and available supports to working with downsizing situations in other provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario) and industries (i.e. automotive manufacturing and petroleum).
• The LMT service developed and piloted within the pulp and paper sector in Campbell River, BC with the following outcomes:
  • Downsizing situation assessed to understand opportunities and readiness of workers to transition into oil and gas;
  • Oil and gas industry perceptions addressed;
  • Local employment centre and CEP union better equipped to assess and assist downsized workers;
  • Training and education courses developed to upgrade pulp and paper workforce existing skill sets;
  • Downsized workers  have  a better understanding of their transferable skills;
  • Greater awareness for oil and gas companies regarding downsized labour pools and transferable skills;
  • Successful recruitment drive conducted by an industry company in Campbell River; and
  • Transition of approximately 70 workers into the oil and gas industry.

Next steps

The Petroleum HR Council will continue to monitor petroleum industry activities to understand occupations that are in-demand. Keeping this in mind and in light of the current market volatility, the Petroleum HR Council has designed and is currently piloting an online employer survey to gather short term labour market issues and trends within the upstream petroleum industry. The survey is also designed to identify occupations that are in-demand as well as leading and lagging HR indicators so that various stakeholders are able to respond on a timely basis to industry's ever changing needs.

The Petroleum HR Council is gearing up for a second pilot within communities and industry companies operating in Northern BC and Alberta. The second pilot will address workforce development in a systemic way and provide short and long term solutions to industry's labour and skills requirements.

To find out more about the project or the next steps, please read the LMT Phase 2 Project Overview (PDF) or contact Claudine Vidallo, Project Manager, at (403) 735-9130 or at cvidallo@petrohrsc.ca.

Items for Download:

• Petroleum Labour Market Transition Project:Coordinating the Connection between Downsized Workers and The Upstream Petroleum Industry - Final Report & Recommendations. (PDF)
• LMT Phase 2 Project Overview (PDF)
• Labour Market Transition - The Process