Posted on 05/18/2015 11:12:48 AM PDT by bananaman22
While we constantly analyze short-term data, the industry has a longer-term problem. And it is not related to what lies below the ground.
There is a retirement tidal wave that could wash over the oil and gas industry over the next few years. The seeds of this crisis were planted in the late 1980’s after the last major oil bust. Oil prices crashed after Saudi Arabia became fed up with losing market share, and beginning around 1986, it pumped flat out in order to force out other producers. The price of oil crashed and a lot of US drillers cut back. That led to layoffs and a much lower level of new hiring.
As a result, a lot of oil workers still around today began working on rigs before the 1980’s crash. With fewer younger workers to take their place, the industry could lose a lot of workers. By some estimates, half of the entire US oil workforce could retire in the next five to seven years.
(Excerpt) Read more at oilprice.com ...
That demographic applies more broadly than just one industry. I see it regularly in manufacturing companies where I consult. Some are working on the problem, others hope they’ll be able to work through it when it hits them square in the face.
We can just import foreigners and train them to these jobs — right?
Yep, this applies to my industry - Insurance also, our office has 5 account execs, 4 of us are between 60-55 in about 5-8 years we will all be going and no one is coming into this industry
Caught offguard? It has been a significant topic of discussion for years in the industry. “The Great Crew Change” has been written about as a major topic in all industry publications.
http://www.rigzone.com/news/archive_search.asp?keyword=great+crew+change
Parents better start teaching their kids how to work! Good paying jobs out there for the taking!
What I see in all industry is this. To apply for a job, you need to go to a cute little web site and do 40 minutes to and hour of nonsense. Then, they send you an email telling you thanks, but no thanks. Simply because you didnt hit on the key words. What a crock. If your over 50, forget it, your, screwed. I got 45 years of, work experience in this life, mostly heavy equipment, and have been turned away from a lot of jobs in favor of younger kids, who have to be told how and when to do everything.
And that really p!sses me off.
Try, using, fewer, commas.
One of them actually told me that websites like Monster.Com will let companies sign up for notification when one of their people applies for something else. Scary stuff.
It appears that some, are self-importing, almost automatically and continuously.
I agree. I’m 46 and it’s nearly impossible to find a “kid” to want to work hard, unless it’s for Monopoly/Lottery money of Silicon Valley.
Yes, this is the strategy. Same as Europe had when it decided to let in waves of immigrants from the middle east. The idea was to have a permanent underclass to do the dirty work while the natives would be free to write poetry or study literature or whatever. They never said that out loud but that was the idea. Unfortunately for them, the 2nd generation of immigrants have fallen into three bins: hard workers (yup, there are some), welfare takers (burden on society), and angry powder kegs. Oops, didn't plan those last two!
Nothing to add to this.... unfortunately
This is how my beautiful country (The Netherlands) gets *&^$#-up
“The average age of people who make stuff in America is 58.”
And there are very few millenials and Gen-Xers willing to take their place. They've been sold the fiction that everyone needs at least a bachelor's degree, when many good jobs require training programs that are less than two years in length, and don't involve a deep fryer.
Here’s one way that manufacturing is trying to address the problem:
http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/Image/Dream-It-Do-It/Dream-It-Do-It.aspx
We have a local group that is working with this program to address this and carry the message down as low as elementary school.
You’re right.
Thing is, that young people are too busy getting a degree, thinking that a degree from a top (haha) university will be a pipeline to the elite, but these days, it doesn’t work that way. The fact is, if you aren’t born with a title or trust fund, you have to work no matter what. FEW can afford to mess around for four years and frankly, young people need to be trained to focus less on their grades and more on work experience.
No, they’re too busy telling their kids to get good grades and SAT scores and then work on getting a degree so they can get a posh job. Hard work is for the ‘lower’ denizens.
What kind of insurance? My kid’s casting about for a potential career.
I do commercial lines but suggest he get involved in any way, he can figure out what he wants to do within the industry, it has been a great one for me and not too many young people going in.
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