In the early stages of any career, training is extremely important in developing a strong knowledge base for employees as well as investing in the future of the chosen industry. Five young Pipeliners from around Australia spoke to The Australian Pipeliner regarding their perspective of recruitment and the training opportunities that they have been provided.

Each of the young Pipeliners interviewed said that they have received training from their respective companies, as well as from outside sources.

Carolyn Bergin of Warren King & Company says, “I am lucky enough to work in a very supportive organisation with people who have not only passed on their invaluable knowledge of the pipeline industry but have also assisted me in learning about leadership and communication.

“Much of the knowledge that has been passed on to me is the kind of information that you can’t learn by reading books and taking notes but can only come from someone with years of experience and an intimate knowledge of the industry,” she says.

Lara Kayess, Project Manager at Oil Search, agrees. “Observing and asking questions of a more experienced person is a great way of learning how things actually work – rather than just the book theory on what is supposed to work.”

In addition, all interviewed listed a number of different types of training they had received outside their workplace, varying from technical courses to leadership and problem solving, development, first aid, site tours, seminars, conferences and management programs.

They agree that all the training programs attended have been useful in some way.

“All the training that I have received has been beneficial in one way or another,” says Mark Dragar, Senior Integrity Engineer at Jemena. “The important thing with training is to not act like a hostage, but more like an explorer. This attitude has helped me extract useful tips and knowledge out of the most mundane courses.”

Lara has a similar attitude when it comes to training. “My time is important to me so if I take the time to participate in training it is always because I expect that it will be beneficial. If the speaker turns out to be terrible then there is always the positive of networking with other people also attending,” she says.

Belinda Close of Primary Industries and Resources SA believes that training is essential, both to learn a new skill or concept as well as to refresh knowledge. “I recently attended a course that I had previously attended five years ago and I still learnt new things, even though one could have said that I already knew the subject well. In my position there is not a lot of on-the-job training in technical areas, so technical training is essential to keeping my knowledge up to date.”

Learning in different areas

Not surprisingly, the type of training deemed most important is the training most closely related with each young Pipeliner’s specific role in the industry. Mark says “As an engineer, I am biased towards safety and AS2885 training, since they affect my work more so on an everyday basis.”

As a Geographical Information System Manager, Carolyn performs risk assessment for pipelines. For this reason she says “It is vital that our staff understand AS2885 to ensure that we are assisting our clients as much as possible.”

All mentioned that training in the areas of safety, AS2885 and contract strategies were important to the industry. “All three areas are very important. Safety is obvious as are AS2885 requirements for maintaining the industry’s reputation as a safe and reliable method for the transportation of energy,” says Henry Dupal, Engineering and Planning Manager at NT Gas.

Belinda agrees “Safety training relative to a particular position is very important and should in most cases be on-the-job. You must be clear on the company’s safety philosophy and procedures.”

Mark says that, although not directly related to his position, he can see the benefits of learning about contracting strategies. “It is something that we, as engineers, should know as it helps build our business acumen and makes us more rounded professionals in the corporate world.”

Lara notes that, although training in these three areas is important, the depth of the training needs to match the person’s current or desired future position. “It is time wasted if people really aren’t interested in being trained in the area,” she says.

She says that she would like to see more experienced people given allocated work time to spend training younger people on-the-job.

Carolyn notes, “For young people, I think experience is the greatest training we can provide, so getting young people into the field to see how it all fits together and works would be very beneficial.”

She goes on to say that the Young Pipeliners Forum (YPF) has been useful in this respect, as it has organised tours to APIA members’ facilities, encouraging a broader understanding of the industry.

Belinda and Henry both note that they can generally find the training they are after. Belinda says that this may even be simply provided through conferences or seminars, whereas Henry points to his involvement in a large company and technical assistance from other interstate colleagues as providing his training support base.

Mark says that he is happy with the amount of training that is provided within the industry, but would like to see more measurability in what is being taught. “There should be two types of training,” he says. “Courses that provide an overview of a subject matter, and then more specific module training that requires proper testing where individuals need to think about the answers and actually solve (or demonstrate how they would solve) a problem.”

Recruiting for the future

There is concern about the ageing demographic of the Australian pipeline industry. But how is it that the younger generation becomes attracted to working in the sector?

When asked what attracted them to the industry, a resounding “I fell into it!” is heard from each young Pipeliner interviewed.

It is for this reason that Belinda says there needs to be a greater awareness of the opportunities available within the industry.

Henry agrees, “We are battling against other industries. The YPF are doing a great job trying to get the word out to young people at places like universities. Targeting existing groups such as the Young Engineers Australia also helps.”

Carolyn says that the YPF is also beneficial to attracting younger people to the industry because they want a job that has a wide network of younger people.

“The YPF is a great networking group that has a huge support from companies within the pipeline industry,” she says.

“The YPF run field trips and networking events on a regular basis, which broadens our knowledge of the industry and allows us, as the leaders of tomorrow, to form great bonds and networks within the industry early so even if individual companies are unable to retain staff as an industry we are more likely to retain people and therefore knowledge.”

Mark sees it as more complex than this, stating that younger people are motivated differently depending on what stage they are at during the first five years out of formal education – progressing from the need to have a job, to wanting to earn more money, to wanting more job satisfaction. “I believe if an employer is smart enough to recognise the stage their young people are at, they should be able to plan for attracting them and retaining them.”

Henry also sees this as the case, saying that it is really important that leaders pay attention to their staff and understand how to get the best out of them. “Young people appreciate training and feeling like they are making a difference and doing well, but it is important to know how to make the individuals feel that.”

Other ways to attract or retain younger people that the five cite include diversity of work, a good working environment and the ability to have a work-life balance.

So why do these young Pipeliners stay in the industry?

“I stay because I feel a sense of achievement each time I complete a project. I also like having the opportunity to make a meaningful and positive difference each day and being rewarded for that,” says Lara.

Carolyn says that she stays because she has found it to be a very dynamic industry where things change daily, sometimes hourly! “I am constantly learning and developing my skills,” she says. “Also, this industry seems to attract dynamic, interesting people so it is constantly developing and it is certainly an enthusiastic industry.”

Henry explains that he stays because of the job opportunity that he has been given and he sees working in an industry that learns from itself through sharing and co-operation amongst its members, as a good environment to work in.

“Allowing young people to see how sharing and supportive this industry is, both amongst the oldies and the young ones will attract youngsters to stay in the industry if not in the one company,” Henry says. “YPF initiatives, such as allowing people to visit operations and projects from other companies, ensure added interest in the industry.”