Developing the Next Generation of Engineers, Geoscientists, and Petrophysicists: How a New Approach to New Hire Training Delivers a Competent and Adaptable Technical Workforce
Authors: Hartman Theresa , Harby Amin , Orr Ashley , Barbato Roberto , Elghanduri Khaled , Hanson Tom , Burgess Keith , Bauch Thorsten 
Published: February 2017

For years, the oil industry has been faced with the technical challenge created by experienced petrotechnical experts retiring and being replaced by less-experienced staff. With the current downturn in the industry, this experience gap has widened at an accelerated rate, and companies are looking for creative ways to increase the breadth of their technical population as well as a way to expedite the usefulness of their new hires. We have found that applying new learning modalities, coaching, and modularization benefits the development of a highly competent and multiskilled global technical population.

In the traditional program, newly hired professionals are assigned to a rigorous 3-year program at the date of hire. The overall program consists of a combination of pre-training learnings, classroom training, and post-training curriculum. Students must show mastery of subjects through passing online exams and through the successful completion of workshops and scenario-based projects. Each student's progress is monitored through a knowledge management system, and the program is continually assessed to ensure timely progress through the system and to measure how well the students are grasping the material.

With the influx of young professionals, the 3-year program has evolved in several ways. The first change to the program is the use of e-learning methodology such as virtual instructor-led trainings (VILT) and Web-based trainings (WBT). These training media provide flexibility to introduce students quickly into the training program and a way to retain key skills between classroom trainings while accessing a global community at a very low cost.

Additionally, businesses are continually looking for ways to accelerate the effectiveness of new hires. To achieve this milestone, a coach is assigned to a new hire at the start of onboarding. The coach's role is to partner with the student, and student and coach work together to determine how to best complete all the learning elements assigned to the student during the program. The coach is someone technical from the same domain with recent knowledge who can help guide the new hire on the path to autonomy, which is essential to the organization. This interaction maximizes the potential of the technical professional through practice and exercises. At the end of this period, the expectation for the student is to show a high level of proficiency across defined technical and business skills.

The current situation also requires that these technical professionals acquire multiple skills to support the specific needs of the area or business segment. To address this need for multiple skills, the training program has evolved into modularized units that can be delivered independently. This modularization also allows experienced technical employees who are not enrolled in the 3-year program, or who have a different core domain, to acquire key skills by attending any portion of the program without sacrificing the quality of the larger program and the training of its participants. This process not only increases the utilization of the technical professionals within the organization, it also provides a broader career path for the individual.

The focus on autonomy, the implementation of a coaching culture, and the modularization of the technical program has successfully delivered proficient technical professionals across a broad category of disciplines. The focus on shortening the period to autonomy has led to improved business value and employee satisfaction, and multi-skilling provides a diverse career path for the technical community and an adaptable workforce to address a myriad of business needs.