HR Issues in Upstream Oil and Gas Industry of India: Some Reflections
15 Pages Posted: 5 Jul 2016
Date Written: March 2010
Abstract
The Indian oil and gas sector is one of the six core industries in India and has very significant forward linkages with the entire economy. Against a backdrop of rising demand locally as well as globally and intention of the government to actively explore further, a boom is expected in the Indian Exploration & Production sector. Further, Globalization leading to mergers and acquisitions, technological advancement, frontier and new production development, changing demographics and regulatory requirements all challenge the upstream petroleum industry more specifically the ability of the industry to attract and retain a skilled workforce. Survey reported a substantial supply and demand gap in the skills in India. The gap on account of demand-supply mismatch may get further aggravated by the exodus of these critical skills from the domestic industry on account of international requirements. With this backdrop in mind, this paper aims at exploring the HRM challenges in the Upstream oil and gas industry. Attempt is also made to suggest solutions to the problems. The HRM challenges are explored through the key characteristics of the Industry such as Cyclical nature, Restructuring, Regulatory processes, Industry cycle stage and Workplace skills. For example, Continuous restructuring in response to competitive pressures and commodity price fluctuations will have long term impact on attracting and retaining skilled workers. The new entrants to the job market may frequently see the oil and gas business as one that does not offer long-term career stability and growth. This affects industry’s ability to attract and retain top-flight people. Regulatory processes also influence the business development and, therefore, employment opportunities. The Industry life cycle can also affect the HRM practices. For example, HR strategies at the beginning of the life cycle are managed differently from mature regions. Finally, the paper suggested some action points for the government, the organizations and the education sector.
Keywords: upstream oil and gas industry, Demand-supply mismatch, Attract and retain skilled workforce, Action points
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