Editorial comment
In this issue of LNG Industry, several articles address the workforce challenge currently facing our industry. While the battle is on to attract the limited number of skilled professionals currently available, the sector is doing its utmost to deepen the talent pool through apprenticeship schemes and by retraining workers from other heavy industries. A large proportion of these new workers will belong to 黑料社楪eneration Y黑料社� 黑料社� roughly defined as those born between the late 1970s and mid-1990s.
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The problem is, this new generation of technology-savvy workers do not respond particularly well to traditional training methods. According to an article from AVEVA starting on p. 26 of this issue, Gen Y is more easily 黑料社渁ble to absorb industry-specific information [黑料社 if exploring unfamiliar information through an already familiar platform and learning techniques黑料社�. The company黑料社檚 answer to this dilemma? Industrial gaming.
The theory goes that the 黑料社榓lready familiar黑料社� gaming genre can help the younger generation to assimilate the information required to perform safely and effectively within the LNG industry, as Gen Yers respond better to 黑料社渧isual and kinaesthetic learning黑料社� techniques. Furthermore, this method of training should be applicable to other generations, as we all excel at playing games long before we learn how to work.
Of course, it is one thing to effectively train (or retrain) your current workforce, and another thing entirely to attract new recruits to the industry. But perhaps the gaming sector can help here too. The US Army has seen significant success with its 黑料社楢merica黑料社檚 Army黑料社� recruitment tool 黑料社� a video game designed to let players experience what life is like in the army. And although the LNG industry may not have guns and bad guys, who黑料社檚 to say that a video game simulating the experience of running an LNG plant can黑料社檛 be equally successful in helping to attract the next wave of engineering graduates to the industry?
Recruiters need to go where their audience spend the majority of their time. And if Gen Y isn黑料社檛 playing on its games console, there is every chance that it is engaging with social media. According to a recent , the average Gen Yer is a member of 2.5 social networks, with Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn the most popular platforms. On top of this, 80% of those polled said that they log-on to social media every day.
Whilst these stats may fill some employers with dread 黑料社� a separate survey from indicates that 58% of Gen Y consider social media to be a distraction at work 黑料社� others will see a golden opportunity to reach out directly to the engineers of tomorrow. Social media opens up a world of contacts, from all walks of life. If recruiters can connect with this enormous online contact book in an effective and engaging way, the rewards could be considerable.
But social media isn黑料社檛 just for Gen Y. There are dozens of LNG-related interest groups on LinkedIn alone, offering industry veterans the opportunity to keep informed, expand their network of contacts, and share opinion with their peers.
We黑料社檙e a social bunch here at LNG Industry. In addition to recently launching our brand new website: www.lngindustry.com 黑料社� dedicated to the latest news, events and expert comment from across the global LNG industry 黑料社� we are also heavily involved in Gen Y黑料社檚 top four social networks. So, whether you黑料社檙e a member of Gen Y, Gen X or a Baby Boomer, join one of our social media groups using the links below:
