Author: Michelle Unger
Industry Engagement Holds the Key to Future Talent
Early findings from interviews with notable industry leaders, combined with the views of young professionals, point to an urgent challenge1: the success of careers in energy and engineering now depends less on purely technical mastery and more on how effectively organizations attract, develop, and retain talent. Following many years developing technical education, Michelle Unger, Vice President Strategic Industry Engagement at ROSEN, has seen firsthand how important it is to build core expertise. She elaborates on why it is especially important today to go even further by developing soft skills, participating in cross-disciplinary learning, and, most importantly, actively engaging with the wider industry to strategically position ourselves as a leading sector.
Without genuine collaboration across companies, academia, and policymakers, we cannot hope to sustain the pipeline of skills required.
Demographic Pressures and Skills Gaps
The demographic clock is ticking. A significant portion of the workforce pipeline is nearing retirement age, taking with them decades of institutional knowledge and technical expertise. This shift creates critical gaps in fields such as integrity management, materials science, and digital twin technologies. These gaps are not easily filled. Industry engagement and collaboration is essential as we co-create solutions by partnering with universities, technical institutes, and professional bodies, we align training and knowledge transfer initiatives with the realities of an evolving workforce.
Energy-Security Concerns
Energy security concerns adds urgency. Changing energy flows require rapid deployment of emerging fuels infrastructure, advanced inspection techniques, and AI-driven analytics. They are fundamental skills central to industry operations and growth. Engineers with cross-disciplinary expertise are in high demand, yet scarce. Early engagement with young talent through joint industry–academic initiatives, apprenticeships, and sponsored research is no longer optional; it is the foundation for building resilience and accelerating innovation across the sector.
Financial and Operational Impact
The financial and operational consequences of neglecting retention are profound. High turnover inflates recruiting and training costs, which are sometimes up to 150% of an engineer’s annual salary. The hidden costs are even greater: project delays, regulatory compliance risks, and weakened safety performance. Industry engagement offers a partial solution here, too. By creating shared platforms for training, secondments, and professional accreditation, companies can reduce duplication of effort and ensure greater continuity of skills across projects and regions.
Talent Attraction & Retention Strategies
So how do we compete for scarce skills? The data is clear: Career appeal is shaped as much by what companies offer as by what they fail to address. New entrants are drawn to stable, well-paid roles with meaningful societal impact, technically challenging work on critical infrastructure, and opportunities for global mobility and exposure to emerging energy carriers. Conversely, they are deterred by limited entry-level schemes, closed referral networks, environmental stigma, and anti–oil-and-gas narratives. To address this, companies should launch referral-free graduate programs, embed pipeline modules in university curricula, and modernize their employee value propositions with flexible benefits, performance-linked rewards, and purpose-driven messaging. Crucially, these efforts must not be carried out in isolation. Shared industry frameworks and outreach programs will signal seriousness about both inclusivity and impact, all decisive factors for the next generation of talent.
The Role of Coaching, Mentoring, and Engagement
Finally, no conversation about career success is complete without emphasizing the impact of coaching and mentoring. Beyond skills development, these relationships foster resilience, purpose, and belonging, the very elements that drive retention. They also accelerate the transfer of tacit knowledge that cannot be captured in manuals or systems. Mentoring and coaching, seen as industry-wide responsibilities and not confined within corporate walls, are the most effective programs. When professionals across companies and disciplines mentor the next generation, we build collective strength and credibility as a sector.
In an era defined by demographic shifts, energy security concerns, and escalating competition for talent, industry-wide engagement is not just desirable; it is indispensable. Companies that work together to prioritize attraction and retention strategies anchored in coaching, mentoring, and purposeful development will be the ones that secure not just their future, but the future of the entire pipeline industry.
Reference:
[1] Comprehensive results available at PPIM 2026: Talent pipeline - A Comprehensive Review of the Talent Management and Career Journeys in the Pipeline Industry.