In situ. Bitumen. Hydraulic fracturing. The language of the oil and gas industry includes a diverse vocabulary, but for all the discussion about the future of one of Canada's richest energy resources, "people" is a word that's often missed.

For the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada, the people who drive the oil and gas industry are its most important component. As a sector council, the Petroleum HR Council was created to address staffing issues, meeting the demand created by industry growth and employee retirement. Formed in 2001, it has spent the last 10 years trying to ensure that oil and natural gas companies are connected to a workforce that's capable and, just as importantly, informed.

"We're certainly creating an awareness of what the industry is all about with respect to its importance in the economy, the involvement in environmental responsibility and really outstanding career opportunities," explains Cheryl Knight, the council's CEO. "There do tend to be impressions created that don't give the complete picture of what [the industry] is about."

As the council's first and current CEO, Knight has ensured the organization's approach adapts to the changing character of the oil and gas industry. Its first challenge was to mobilize the industry to collectively address labour issues. And one of its most recent challenges was when the industry was affected by the economic downturn in 2008. Recruitment was not a priority for most companies (between 13,000 and 15,000 positions were downsized).

To keep abreast of the latest changes in the industry, the Petroleum HR Council conducts a pair of surveys every year, followed by a yearly report that issues medium- to long-term projections. This year's report, The Decade Ahead: Labour Market Projections and Analysis for Canada's Oil and Gas Industry to 2020 (3.8 MB PDF), which was issued in March, isolates employment trends by hiring requirements, occupations, sectors and provinces. It also provides three general scenarios that attempt to predict employment growth within the industry. With these predictions, the council has some idea of the industry's future labour trends.

"We're in the mid-case scenario squarely now," says Knight. "Oil prices are promoting growth in the oil sands, so we're seeing increasing demand in in situ projects. We also see companies shifting their budgets from gas to oil, if they have the ability to do that. And then with gas it's unconventional gas where we're seeing growth, primarily with liquid natural gas (LNG)."

Under the council's mid-case, "Growth Oil/Low Gas" scenario:

"Industry will need to hire for about 53,500 positions between 2010 and 2020. Continued investment in oil-related activity creates approximately 13,000 new jobs specifically in the Oil sands and Services sectors while decreased gas activity results in about 6,000 job losses. The overall result is a net increase of 7,000 jobs or a 4% increase from the industry's 2009 workforce. Age-related attrition accounts for the majority of hiring requirements as approximately 46,500 workers retire from the industry. Employment growth within the Oil sands sector helps attract new labour supply pools, but is not enough to address all hiring needs."

This increasing labour market demand is primarily composed of two separate forces: industry growth and replacement demand. In fact, retiring employees alone will be a significant factor, with an estimated 30 per cent of the workforce expected to retire by 2020.

Like other sector councils, the Petroleum HR Council recognizes that immigration will be one of the most important sources of new workers for the industry. For Knight, while foreign worker programs provide a means of recruiting workers from abroad, Canada already has a pool of capable immigrants who are engaged by government support organizations, looking for work.

"Granted there may be training requirements, but the cost around that is far less than foreign workers," she says. "Temporary foreign worker program and provincial nominee programs are valuable, but I believe those approaches should be used for specific skills that are unattainable here."

The council has even created a tool designed to engage specific demographic groups called "Draw the World into Your Workplace".

The Petroleum HR Council also looks to fill the gap left between those retiring with the skills the industry needs and the new entrants that are leaving schools without them. As a result, the industry often looks to industries with tradespeople whose skills are transferrable, such as those in the pulp and paper industry.

Finally, the council continues to look to graduating students to continue to fill the gaps left by both expansion and retirement. "We are endeavouring to develop a targeted approach to engage secondary and post secondary school systems," says Knight. "They take some time."

The council continues to engage industry and its employable audiences — its current projects can be found on its website and its Careers in Oil and Gas site, which provides the a range of employment-based tools including links to industry job boards, information on training programs and resources for various employable groups. And, as always, students are a prime audience for recruitment.

In October, the council will partner with student job site TalentEgg to host Career Spotlight: Petroleum, an online job fair. Between October 10 and 14, the council will try to increase awareness of entry-level opportunities in the oil and gas industry using social media, articles and employer profiles.

The council is also creating a job board, slated to go online in the late fall of 2011. Designed to provide industry information and employment opportunities in a single place, Knight describes the project as "shop and learn," providing the kind of context that is essential for attracting the next generation of oil and gas employees. Because in an industry that is so often driven by the technologies that make it possible, its human element continues to be its driving force.