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BOEMRE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM: ONGOING STUDIES |
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BOEMRE OCS Region: |
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Planning Area: |
Gulfwide |
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Title: |
Characteristics and Possible Impacts of the Aging Workforce
Transition on the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Industry in the |
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Total Cost: $196,247 |
Period of Performance: FY 2009 - 2011 |
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Conducting Organization: |
Coastal Marine Institute,
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BOEMRE Contact: |
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Description: Background: The oil and gas industry is a primary
contributor to state and local economies in the Gulf of Mexico Region. The U.S. Energy Information Administration
projects that the worldwide demand for energy produced by oil and natural gas
will double over the next 20 years. To
support energy demands, significant physical infrastructural investments have
been made. However, comparable efforts
to shore up the human infrastructure of the oil and gas industry have not
been made. As a result, population and
industry trends suggest a looming workforce crisis that will be triggered by
an inevitable wave of retirement among our nation’s oldest workers. Almost half of the A second contributor to the
aging workforce crisis is the low levels of employment replacement,
particularly among the skilled and semi-skilled trades that are vital to oil
and gas production and exploration companies.
Since the collapse of oil prices in the 1980’s, across sectors and
occupational groups, fewer people are being trained for and entering careers
in the oil and gas industry. Although
some companies have recently taken steps to offset spiraling replacement
rates by working to retain and recruit new hires, the lengthy on-the-job
training models common in the industry forecast a ten-year time lag before
the newest hires cultivate the professional expertise and experience needed
to operate independently in their fields.
Until then, labor shortages associated with this “missing generation”
will only intensify as the Baby Boom generation approaches retirement, taking
with them valuable institutional knowledge and skill. The workforce transitions associated with population aging and labor shortages indicate a workforce crisis that will challenge OCS oil and gas production and exploration companies. As a result, these transitions also threaten the social and economic foundations of the employees, families, and communities that so heavily depend on the industry. |
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Objectives:
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Methods: The project will employ a mixed-method research design to examine employment practices and the impacts of the aging workforce transition in two contrasting OCS industry sectors, oil and gas exploration and production companies in the GOMR. Data will be gathered in two phases to inform three general workforce themes: (1) company characteristics (e.g., workforce age, occupational groups, functions, and sectors); (2) current labor trends (e.g., skill shortages, personnel placements, retirements), and (3) anticipated changes to business plans, production, and/or practices related to personnel management. Data literature and discussions with industry experts and personnel will be recorded, coded, and synthesized to indentify modal themes, and then analyzed to detect consistencies and differences across companies, communities, sectors, and occupations.
The interview methodology has been temporarily postponed due to the Gulf oil spill. In the meantime, contractors developed a policy capture methodology for collecting information about the "public view" of labor management practices in the 200 oil and gas exploration and production companies identified for inclusion in the workforce aging project. Specifically, a taxonomy was created to identify and summarize key information about employee recruitment and retention from publicly available information posted on the websites. This allows researchers to develop an understanding of the labor trends being expressed to the external public and internal employees about efforts to attract and preserve knowledge, skill, and expertise. This information will be used in combination with the telephone discussions to gain an understanding of the most common labor management practices being engaged by GOMR firms for addressing labor shortages associated with workforce aging |
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Products: The
deliverables for this project are:
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Importance to BOEMRE: The project will address the BOEMRE goal to provide a scientific analysis of the social and economic impacts of the aging workforce crisis on GOMR companies and communities, and to help resource managers make informed decisions about how to prepare for these transitions as they become more salient in years to come. |
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Current Status: The preliminary data analysis from the supplementary policy capture study described above has been concluded. Findings from the interim policy capture methodology revealed that fewer than half of the websites coded provide the public or potential recruits information about hiring, training, and retention priorities. Specific findings along with literature review and data collected earlier in the study will be presented in a manuscript discussing potential labor practices associated with aging issues in the oil and gas industry.
A research symposium authored by the researchers has been accepted for presentation at the national meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) in Chicago, IL, Spring, 2011. |
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Final Report Due: |
November 2012 |
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Publications: |
Tim Slack and Tracey Rizzuto, "Aging and Economic Well-Being in Rural America: Exploring Income, Poverty, and Employment Challenges," Aging in Rural America, (forthcoming) |
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Affiliated WWW Sites: |
N/A |
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Revised date: |
May 2011 |
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ESPIS |
ESPIS
- All completed ESP Studies: |
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