Millennials are no longer just a small cohort of recent graduates entering the workforce. Many have reached managerial positions and, in some cases, have been working up to a decade beyond their post-secondary education. According to Abacus Data, in 2018 in Canada Millennials will make up the largest cohort in the workforce, making them the most represented of any other age group; also, more Millennials are eligible to vote in Canada than Baby Boomers.
A 2016 McKinsey & Company study, however, finds that 14% of Millennials said they would not work in the oil and gas industry because of its negative reputation. While 14% may not seem like a high number, it is the highest percentage compared to any other industry. As more Baby Boomers retire, Millennials’ unwillingness to join the the oil and gas workforce could hinder the industry’s ability to hire and retain a knowledgeable, highly skilled workforce, undermining its ability to compete in the energy market.
While e-learning is not a band-aid solution for Millennial misconceptions about the oil and gas industry, better training can go a long way to improving safety and use of technology. But only if it’s the right kind of e-learning. It must be learning that:
In other words, it must be Adaptive Learning.
Instead of focusing on course completion, which is how traditional training measures learning success, Adaptive Learning focuses on learner mastery.
In an industry like oil and gas that is perceived to be dangerous, changing employee behavior to ensure health and safety is a main priority. When training is provided via Adaptive Learning, it can improve overall employee health and safety because of the learner mastery guarantee.
Adaptive Learning health and safety training is no longer seen as a check-the-box exercise, but a practical way to improve the safety - and lessen the danger - of working in the oil and gas industry.
Adaptive Learning combines cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and big data to increase learner engagement. Millennials (and Gen Zers) who grew up using technology, and are comfortable with it (in ways their Boomer parents may not be), expect and want to use technology in their corporate learning.
Traditional learning tools and teaching methods simply aren’t as effective on our youngest workforce-eligible generations. By providing young professionals with the type of training they want to receive and demonstrating that oil and gas is a technologically advanced field, the industry can attract more of the Millennial labor force to improve the skills gap.
Whether you want to use e-learning to fill the skills gap in your business or you have another training issue, the adoption of Adaptive Learning can fix any training pain point for your business. Download this checklist to discover how.
References:
http://abacusdata.ca/the-rising-political-power-of-millennials/
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/oil-and-gas/our-insights/the-oil-and-gas-organization-of-the-future
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-oil-and-gas-perspectives-generations-views/$FILE/ey_survey_careers.pdf
https://trainingindustry.com/articles/sales/coaching-the-millennial-sales-force-challenges-and-opportunities/