AS THE OIL and gas drilling industry advances into new frontiers with new technologies, it demands increasingly higher skill levels among workers. Yet historical ups and downs in the economy have created gaps in the work force. In fact, the current recession places us on the precipice of a new fracture in our personnel pipeline. In addition to workforce reductions related to reduced activity levels, our industry is facing large numbers of experienced people nearing retirement. Combined with the growing size of the worldwide drilling fleet, this sets up an environment that will require less-experienced workers to advance quickly into more responsible roles. All of this is occurring at a time when drilling is more technically complex than ever before.
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