The paper, titled “The 2011 Oil and Gas Industry Hiring Outlook,” is available for free download at http://www.oilcareers.com/hiring_outlook_2011/. Highlighting the major trends from 2008 to 2010 and what they mean for 2011 industry hiring, the report describes the effect the global downturn has had on international oil and gas sector jobs and identifies growth opportunities in niche areas such as geoscience, marine/diving/ROV, management and IT.

Stating that the impending retirement age of the most experienced people is leading to a surge in hiring as companies rush to stockpile talent in certain areas, the paper also describes why hiring trends indicate an industry turnaround, which jobs have been most in-demand over the past three years and what employers and candidates should expect in 2011.

Research shows that 2010 witnessed a 55 percent growth in IT/communications, 48 percent growth in operations, 40 percent growth in HR/personnel/training and 33 percent growth in sales/marketing from 2009. These areas are important indicators of increased hiring.

Mark Guest, managing director of OilCareers.com said, “After several challenging years for employers and candidates in the oil and gas industry, OilCareers.com analysis indicates that employers, recruiters and candidates should approach 2011 with guarded optimism. The types of positions where we are witnessing a pick up, such as sales, marketing and human resources, are indicative of a turnaround in hiring.

“We must, however, be mindful that not all jobs and industry sectors will experience growth and that hiring will also be effected by external factors, such as the consequences of the drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon incident.”

The paper identifies that the most-advertised job descriptions for 2010 were technical positions such as mechanical engineering, subsea engineering and drilling/well engineer.

Other key findings include the following observations for 2011:

• Technical positions will remain difficult to fill
• Near-term increase in exploration will see a rise in demand for drilling positions, with the longer-term outlook suggesting a 14 percent decrease in this area by 2018
• Marine/Driving/ROV and other subsea exploration and production positions should continue to grow
• New technologies have unlocked new products
• Environmental positions could increase

Download the 2011 Oil and Gas Industry Hiring Index now at http://www.oilcareers.com/hiring_outlook_2011/.