Need a Source? Canadian oil and gas sector still struggling to address skilled labour shortages despite "doing everything right"

Pressure to address this challenge mounts due to strong forecasted growth

TORONTO, May 10, 2012 /CNW/ - Despite being a global leader in many aspects of compensation and recruitment within the oil and gas sector, Canada is still facing skilled labour shortages - the industry's self identified number one challenge for 2012, according to a recent global survey of oil and gas organizations in 53 countries conducted by Hays Oil & Gas and leading jobsite Oil and Gas Job Search.

Positive signs:

• Competitive salaries for both domestic and foreign employees - Canada pays the fifth highest domestic salary, and the 17^th highest salary for imported talent.
• Canada leads all other markets in recruiting women which make up 12.2% of the workforce, compared to just 7.8% globally.
• Strong growth - 33% of Canadian oil and gas companies expect staffing levels to increase by more than 10% in 2012, 47% expect staffing levels to increase between 5% and 10%.

Persistent challenges:

• There is a significant rise in Canadians leaving the domestic market to work overseas. In 2009 3.2% worked in the U.S, and 26.6% worked in other international markets. In 2011 those figures rose to 4.9% and 32.7% respectively.
• Canada lags global peers in hiring foreign talent - 36.5% of the workforce is imported, six per cent lower than the global average.
• A full one third of Canada's oil and gas workforce is between 50 and 59 years old and quickly approaching retirement.

Matt Underhill, Managing Director, Hays Oil & Gas' global operations, will be in Calgary on Thursday May 10 until Friday May 11 and is available for in person and phone interviews to discuss these findings.

About Hays Oil & Gas:

Hays is the leading global specialist recruiting group. It is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people across the full lifecycle of the global oil and gas industry. Its recruiting experts deal in both permanent positions and contract roles within upstream, project development and downstream operations.

About Hays PLC

Hays employs 7,620 staff operating from 257 offices in 32 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2011, Hays placed around 60,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 190,000 people into temporary assignments.

About Hays Canada:

Hays Specialist Recruitment Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hays plc, which has been at the forefront of the global recruitment industry for over 35 years. With annual revenues of over £2.1 billion, Hays Specialist Recruitment is the largest specialist recruitment consultancy in the world.

To arrange an interview please contact:

Kieran Lawler
Media Profile
Direct: 416-342-1823
Mobile: [phone]
[email protected]

Jennifer Kaiser
Media Profile
Direct: 416-342-1817
Mobile: [phone]
[email protected]