The U.S. oil industry began in earnest when John D. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Company in 1865, becoming the country’s first oil baron in the process. Today, not only does the Rockefeller name still appear on colleges, landmarks, and charities all over the U.S., but there are about 200,000 miles of oil pipelines stretching from coast to coast.
Not only is the U.S. home to the world’s largest oil reserves, but it’s the third-largest oil producing country on the planet, behind only Saudi Arabia and Russia. That’s why the energy sector, primarily the oil and gas sector, is one of the largest economic engines the world has ever seen.
A Complex Industry Requires Complex Training Programs
One of the biggest challenges to filling jobs in the petroleum industry is the lack of skilled workers. While petroleum training programs have advanced rapidly to meet increased demands, many workers lack the specific knowledge they need to begin a career in the oil and gas industry.
And it’s a big industry. There’s the exploration and production sector, which encompasses oil wells and other extraction techniques, to the downstream sector, the refining and sale of petroleum products. The pipelines we mentioned earlier, along with other transportation methods, make up the midstream sector of the industry.
As new fracking techniques allow companies to access the Bakken and Utica shales in North Dakota and Ohio respectively, new workers are needed in all sectors of the market.
How To Train the Next Generation of Petroleum Workers
Without the proper petroleum training, working on an oilfield, offshore well, or pipeline can be dangerous work. And in order for workers and businesses to take full advantage of the economic opportunities the market creates, both general knowledge and advanced skills are needed.
That’s why new petroleum training companies are stepping up to fill the knowledge gap. While there are trade schools that provide a background in oil and gas, new customized training programs offer companies customized educational solutions to train their workforce.
This customized approach gives companies a flexible curriculum tailored to their needs. It also ensures that workers in the industry have all the tools and knowledge they need to support the industry in the decades to come.
