Coalition says natural gas industry hiring local people
More than half of the people hired to work in the Marcellus and Utica shale gas extraction industry last year originated from Pennsylvania, and 70 percent of the 4,000 people expected to be hired this year would be southwestern Pennsylvania residents.
Those are some of the results of a recently released 2012, year-end workforce survey the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) conducted with its members, which include hundreds of drillers, pipeline and compressor operators, engineering firms, suppliers and related businesses.
“I think it’s abundantly clear that natural gas development in the commonwealth is continuing to have a cascading impact across our economy, especially in job creation,” said MSC spokesman Travis Windle.
The 101 MSC-member company officials who responded to the survey, said 96 percent of the employees they hired in 2012 came from the Marcellus and Utica shale gas producing states — Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and New York — and 56.8 percent were Pennsylvania residents.
“Our member companies are increasingly hiring and training local talent, which remains a top industry priority. And despite the sluggish economic trends nationally, the opportunities available for careers in shale exploration and production continue to grow,” said Kathryn Klaber, chief of the coalition. “We are proud of the talented and hardworking men and women developing these clean-burning, homegrown energy resources.”
Nearly 30 percent of the people hired last year were equipment operators, and a little more than 20 percent worked in operations and maintenance, but just less than 11 percent worked in engineering and construction, which were the most difficult positions to fill, according to the survey.
The vast majority of the people hired were white and men. The survey said 80 percent where white, 76.2 percent were men and 21.9 percent were women.
Of the 40 respondents who indicated that jobs in the engineering and construction field were the hardest to fill, 25 said professional positions in the field were the most difficult; 10 said they had the most difficulty hiring management and executives, and the remaining five said business support, technicians and operators jobs were the hardest to fill.
“There’s a clear need for pipeline and infrastructure jobs,” Windle said. “The demand there is strong.”
Low gas prices, which are the result of the huge volume of gas being produced, and a reduction in the number of drilling rigs in the state have temporarily reduced the need for drilling jobs, he said.
The top challenges industry employers faced when seeking employees were finding qualified people, competition in hiring qualified people and the unwillingness to relocate.
Ten respondents said resistance to relocating was a significant challenge, 30 said it was somewhat of a problem and 20 said it was not a problem. Most respondents indicated that wages and salaries were somewhat of a challenge and the perception of the industry was not a problem.
About half of the company officials who responded felt that quality-of-life issues and working conditions or the type of work involved were challenges. Twenty respondents said failed pre-employment drug tests and failed background screenings were problems.
Most of the people companies expected to hire this year were needed in the engineering and construction field and in operations and maintenance, according to the survey.
Of the respondents, 70 expected to hire engineering and construction employees; 50 expected to hire operations and maintenance personnel; 40 planned to hire administration and environmental health and safety employees; about 25 expected to hire well service workers; 20 expected to hire equipment operators and land agents; 15 planned to hire water management employees and about 12 planned to hire geology and purchasing employees.
Companies said they outsourced little work, but equipment operators were most frequently outsourced jobs. About 12 said they outsourced equipment operators and fewer than 10 outsourced well service jobs and construction and engineering jobs, according to the survey.
Just less than 50 respondents strongly agreed that four-year engineering degree programs in engineering beyond what is currently available are needed; almost 40 strongly agreed that four-year pipeline engineering programs beyond what is currently available are needed, and 35 strongly agreed that four-year environmental studies programs with an emphasis on air quality beyond what is currently available are needed.
Thirty strongly agreed that four-year geology degree programs beyond what is currently available are needed, and just less than 30 strongly agreed that four-year health and safety programs beyond was is currently available are needed.
Company websites and referrals were the top employee recruiting methods, according to the survey.