HR chiefs to brainstorm on talent crunch
New Delhi   02-Oct-2007
Top executives from major oil companies, both in the public and private sectors, will put their heads together at a conclave to figure out ways to attract, nurture and retain young talent who are increasingly opting for the cleaner environs of sectors such as IT, than the dirt and grime of oil industry. For the HR chiefs of state-owned firms, attracting and retaining talent against competition' from the private sector, will top the agenda. IndianOil's chairman, Mr.Sarthak Behuria will flag the issues being faced by the industry in his keynote address to the Sixth Oil and Gas HR Round-table that the flagship refiner-marketer is co-hosting with the Dehradun-based Indian School of Petroleum. HR directors from IndianOil, Mr.V C Agrawal, ONGC’s, Mr. A K Balyan, and GAIL’s, Mr. M R Kingnikar and Engineers India Ltd’s, Mr. D K Gupta will join Mr. Behuria. Bharat Petroleum's director (refineries) Mr. M A Tankiwala and ED (retail), Mr. Sanjay Krishnamurthy will also take part in the roundtable. Globally, the oil industry is facing manpower crunch at the entry level. In India, the problem is more acute as the sector is growing at a rapid pace and there aren't enough institutions imparting specialization in the oil industry. Besides, more young talent is opting for sectors such as in-, formation technology in preference to the dirt and grime of oil industry. For the state-owned companies, the problem has been compounded by competition from private companies. This situation has been due to the perception that state-owned companies do not allow enough scope for career growth and the remuneration is less lucrative than what is offered by the private sector.