Getting the New Generation to Choose for Pipelines - and KEEP Them!
Knowledge transfer from senior to junior pipeline specialists and attracting young pipeliners to our industry is a topic on the agenda of many Pipeline Events. The few events that the writer of this article has attended have at least addressed these challenges.
During one of the venues, a participant stated that his company could not attract some of the high potentials, because they simply did not want to work in the fossil industry. They explicitly chose to apply their knowledge and skills in the renewable industry.
Another participant of a discussion panel did a round in his own family and found out that none of the 15-20 youngsters chose a technical education. They want to do something “nice “- like marketing, leisure sciences and international relationships.
And in a recent venue with 50 young Dutch Pipeliners, the question was asked who of the participants explicitly chose for the pipeline industry. Two hands were raised. The same amount as at a session at the PTC in Berlin in 2018, where approximately 30 persons were present.
How come that the Pipeline Industry is considered not to be ‘nice’? What is the new generation (Y and Z) looking for and how can we attract them to our industry? Should we be capable of turning the current energy transition into one of our strengths and what could we do to make ourselves better known?
This article will provide a (non-exhaustive) overview of the challenges that the Pipeline Industry might be facing and includes suggestions on how to deal with these challenges. A Cross-border approach for attracting youngsters to our industry will be beneficial to the pipeline industry, which is supported by the recently established Young Pipeline Professionals Europe.