Simplifying the process

Thousands of engineers are facing retirement and there is a shortage of staff with the necessary expertise to replace them.

With pressure from the market and companies looking at rationalising assets, this situation is unlikely to improve – in the short term at least.

The problem is particularly severe in the oil, gas and chemicals sectors. According to the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the average age of a petroleum worker is 51 years old. Nearly 60 per cent are 45 or older. This represents a peak in the profile of existing workers and suggests that approximately 40 per cent of the workforce will be lost over the next 10 years.

The prospect of such a significant loss of experience and expertise requires urgent action. Organisations need to decide how to capture and retain knowledge and pass it on effectively to the incoming generation. The skills of veterans need to be complemented with easier-to-use tools and processes, tighter integration of product sets, globalisation of solutions and effective knowledge capture and transfer.