With environmental and sustainability at the forefront of industry transformation, the OGSE industry faces an escalating demand for both broad and specialised expertise.
MALAYSIA’S oil and gas industry is undergoing a transformative phase, marked by dynamic shifts in energy transition, digital technology integration, future-focused technology and innovation and the pursuit of lower-carbon alternatives.
With environmental and sustainability at the forefront of this change, the oil and gas services and equipment (OGSE) industry faces an escalating demand for both broad and specialised expertise.
To maintain productivity and competitiveness, it is crucial for the OGSE industry to attract and retain talents with the right capabilities.
Challenges within the industry landscape
The PETRONAS Activity Outlook 2024-2026 shows significant challenges, including competency gaps and stiff competing job offers that pose significant hurdles for talent recruitment in this industry.
This not only affects operational efficiency and productivity but also raises concerns regarding safety and asset integrity, particularly in high-risk environments like offshore operations and processing plants.
As such, talents must possess the necessary competencies and knowledge to uphold asset integrity and ensure process safety, mitigating potential risks and averting unfavourable situations or accidents.
To tackle these challenges, it is imperative for the OGSE industry to revamp its talent strategy, rewiring talent to focus on upskilling and reskilling. This will ensure a comprehensive understanding of talent demand and supply and integrate fragmented initiatives for a robust talent outlook.
Talents must possess the necessary competencies to uphold asset integrity and ensure process safety.
Ongoing collaborative efforts in the OGSE talent space
Recognising the crucial need to support a sustainable pool of talent, PETRONAS, a key industry player, has taken proactive measures to address talent development needs.
Central to its approach is the cultivation of a growth mindset within the industry, which emphasises the belief that talents can enhance their abilities through dedication and effort.
By fostering this mindset, PETRONAS empowers talents to continuously learn, adapt and innovate in response to industry shifts and technological advancements.
This is paramount to ensure long-term sustainability and industry competitiveness.
In its collaboration with Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) and the Malaysian Oil, Gas and Energy Services Council (MOGSC), PETRONAS has led initiatives such as the Industrial Skills Framework (IndSF).
This framework serves as a structured approach to talent development across various sectors.
After the success of the first edition, the second edition of the IndSF for oil, gas and energy streamlined 11 skillsets from the initial 17.
These new skillsets’ certifications cover crucial areas like insulation, cathodic protection monitoring and thermal spray coating to support hydrogen generation, and welding inspection, hydro-jetting and more.
Additionally, the second edition of IndSF expanded the focus areas to encompass 156 technical skills, 21 soft skills and 68 certification programmes related to these skillsets.
This strategic initiative aims to meet the industry’s demand for a skilled workforce in a timely manner, aligning with PETRONAS’ commitment to fostering a diverse and well-rounded talent pool capable of meeting the challenges in the sector.
To better equip industry players in adapting to the energy transition, awareness sessions on sustainability and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) implementation were also conducted, underscoring the importance of rallying the OGSE sector towards a just transition.
Emphasising the need to build a robust talent pool in the industry, PETRONAS group human resource management vice president Ruslan Islahudin said, “In terms of talent development, there exists a supply gap in high expertise functions.
“It is imperative for talents to be readily equipped for the future, especially in light of the ongoing energy transition, which require new skillsets and elevated capabilities. This will help us move towards a competitive and resilient OGSE ecosystem,” he added.
To maintain productivity and competitiveness, it is crucial for the OGSE industry to attract and retain talents with the right capabilities.
Rallying action for globally-competitive talent
Collective action is an important component in co-creating long-term sustainable solutions for the industry, which calls for industry-wide efforts to cultivate interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields from early school levels.
Collaboration with educational institutions is crucial to expose students to industry demands and job opportunities, fostering a pipeline of talent for the future.
As part of PETRONAS Powering Knowledge efforts, the global energy company has been nurturing talents through robust education and training initiatives, devoting resources to Malaysia’s human capital development to meet the country’s requirements and the energy industry’s demand.
These initiatives include providing education sponsorships, Vocational Institutions Sponsorship and Training Assistance (VISTA), and “Discover PETRONAS @ Schools” programme.
By incorporating practical, real-world scenarios and hands-on experiences, the educational curriculum can be customised to enable students to engage in industry-specific experiments, conduct observations, pose inquiries, experiment with ideas, foster creative thinking and utilise intuition.
These experiential learning opportunities are essential in preparing students to develop innovative solutions that address the challenges faced by the industry in the future.
To nurture the tech-driven startup ecosystem, PETRONAS FutureTech growth accelerator programme aims to unlock synergies from cross-industry expertise while enabling budding startups to scale up their innovative ventures.
As PETRONAS reaches its 50-year milestone, the global energy company recognises the relentless dedication and passion shown by its ecosystem of partners, collaborators and talents towards progress.
These initiatives demonstrate PETRONAS’ commitment to establish meaningful collaborations to deliver solutions that enrich lives for a sustainable future.
As Malaysia’s OGSE industry navigates through challenges and opportunities, fostering talent development and industry collaboration can contribute towards a thriving OGSE industry and globally competitive players.
