The recent decline in oil prices has led a reduction in Oil & Gas sector activity, causing companies and sector professionals are looking for new alternatives. Many companies have set a gaze on this sector with the growing boom in renewable energy, in which has been a professional migration from one sector to another. In this regard¸ although it seems that their activity is very different, both maintain relation aspects, since they have many power plants, especially electric ones, that work by gas supply.
The profiles that have worked in this type of plants have more opportunity to be relocated in renewable energies companies. In addition, positions that have been related to project management, such us Project Managers or Planners, will be the ones that will have the best facilities to change from one sector to another. In such cases, the most important factor that must be considered is the economic size of projects with they have worked, even ahead of sector experience. For example, a project manager of the oil sector that has handled 500 million, without experience in renewable will be better valued than ones without less wingspan projects and long experience.
The biggest problem to make the plunge from oil and gas to renewable energies is for higher specialization profiles or that have only been dedicated to refineries. This types of profiles will face with more difficulties than profiles that have worked in combined cycles, since the last one profiles have handled shared areas of the energy sector.
As in all areas, the most specialized professionals tend to be best paid, because of their demand is higher than offer. In this way, this phenomenon occurred with Oil & Gas professionals a few years ago. This opened the debate for all professionals in technical areas about how much specialization do they want to have?
In general terms, in Spain we are known for having less specialized profiles but conversely we have more experience in different areas than engineers from other countries. This ability allows us to adapt better and to be more resoluteness, making our profiles more labour attractive in relation to other countries.
Ultimately, times change and ways to produce energy too. This does not mean that Oil & Gas sector will disappear and all its professionals must migrate to other disciplines. But, we are facing great changes of one of the greatest influence resources that forces us to adapt to new energy trends.
The fall in oil prices is generating a global trend to develop clean energy for first time in more than a half of century. Moreover, this situation is making us think about a real change that affects to employment, political situation and power managements, worldwide.
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