The workforce of the future in energy: Opportunities ahead

In the energy sector, challenges often feel insurmountable: a shrinking workforce, aging systems, financial constraints, and cultural resistance to change. But challenges are only one side of the story. As the saying goes, every Yin has its Yang, and for all the obstacles facing businesses and their workforces, there are equally powerful opportunities for those that embrace the workforce of the future.

The previous paper in this series examined the Yin—the pressing challenges that are reshaping how energy companies operate and how work gets done. Now, it’s time to turn our attention to the Yang: the opportunities that come with these challenges. From the potential of digital natives to the impact of leading-edge technologies, the energy sector has huge potential to redefine the nature of work, making it smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable.

This paper explores the forces driving these opportunities and sets the stage for how energy companies can harness them to build a better future. The workforce of the future runs on innovation, adaptability, and the power of collaboration, which when combined, can provide the energy industry opportunities to thrive in ways yet to be imagined.

Talent evolution

The workforce of the future is being shaped by a generation that has grown up glued to technology. Consider this: the Apple iPhone, introduced in 2007, is now 18 years old. For today’s new graduates, smartphones have been their constant companions throughout their entire education. This deep familiarity with digital tools means younger workers are not only comfortable with technology—they expect it to be part of their work environment.

This generation’s ability to adopt new technologies is faster than any previous generation. Streaming services, for example, reached 50% market penetration in just five to seven years, compared to 15-20 years for the VCR. For energy companies, this is an opportunity to build a workforce that can quickly adapt to and exploit new technologies, whether it’s robotics, IoT devices, or advanced analytics platforms.

Clean energy, in particular, has become a magnet for younger workers. Government programs like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States and the EU Green Deal drove investments into clean energy sectors such as solar, wind, and battery storage. These rapid growth industries align with the values of younger generations, who seek out sustainable and purpose-driven work. A recent survey of younger workers making up 45% of the US workforce reveals 88% want their careers to have impact.[i] For energy companies transitioning to lower-carbon operations, this is an opportunity to attract a generation of workers keen to make a difference.

At the same time, energy transition and energy sector consolidation are creating an abundance of experienced professionals. Industry restructuring, such as refinery closures in California and the UK, and the current wave of oil and gas company mergers in the US, are resulting in a surplus of seasoned oil and gas workers, many of whom are still interested in performing similar work.[ii]^,[iii] These individuals bring decades of expertise and experience in safe energy operations, and steady hands to help companies navigate the transition to cleaner energy. A winning strategy is to combine the adaptability of younger workers with the experience of industry veterans. This approach has resulted in new technical innovations, founded on long term experience.

Technological advancements

Advances in technology are redefining the energy workforce in profound ways. Automation, robotics, and smarter plants are not just transforming how work is done—they’re reshaping the very nature of the workforce itself. Growth in robotics and automation for oil and gas is expected to be 5.2% compounded from 2022 to 2030, well more than the growth of the oil and gas industry.[iv] 

One of technology’s prime impacts is its ability to displace humans from dangerous and repetitive tasks while elevating workers into higher-value roles as overseers of automated processes and AI systems. The concept of the “human in the middle” is essential to creating a balanced and effective artificial intelligence ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of human expertise and oversight in managing and optimizing automation. This approach not only enhances operational safety but also drives greater efficiency across energy operations.

Automated systems and smarter operations empower teams to achieve better results with greater reliability. Workers, even those with less experience, can operate at higher quality levels when equipped with advanced tools. Connected worker technologies, which resonate strongly with today’s digital natives, provide real-time data and instructions, enabling employees to make faster, better-informed, and safer decisions. These tools seamlessly integrate into a younger workforce’s expectations for digitally enhanced environments, helping energy companies align modern work experiences with evolving employee needs.

Robotics and automation are also creating new opportunities for workforce change. These technologies reduce the need for manual labor doing repetitive work and at the same time, they create a demand for workers capable of supervising and maintaining robots. The programmers of tomorrow may not be traditional coders; instead, they will oversee armies of bots building code and automated systems, managing their work and improving their quality. Google reports that 25% of new code at Google is machine generated, then human reviewed.[v] This shift requires a new skill set that blends technical know-how with systems management and machine oversight.

Robotic process automation (RPA) tools, pioneered in the gaming industry, coupled with standardized processes from ERP deployments have combined to enable alternative business models for many process areas. Global service centers, a solution initially employed by energy super-majors to manage costs, have evolved alongside technology to encompass all manner of business processes (BPS). Today, technological advancements have lowered the threshold for adopting alternative business process operating models, making it accessible to small and mid-sized companies. As firms look to achieve more with fewer or less experienced employees, sourcing business functions through BPS has become an increasingly attractive option.[vi]

Smarter plants and assets represent another major gain in sophistication, though their adoption varies across the industry. Brownfield plants are particularly challenging to embrace new technology due to the onerous financial penalty from taking them offline for upgrades. In contrast, greenfield plants in newer energy fields like renewables or in high-value sectors such as petrochemicals can be built from the ground up with modern technology in mind. Suppliers to the energy industry, whose facilities typically turn over faster than the brownfield plants of their customers, are also likely to see greater opportunities for optimization in the near term. New entrants to the energy industry arrive, often coming from a manufacturing background and bringing with them Industry 5.0 thinking and technologies.

Technologies that change the human-machine interface are advancing just as quickly. Real-time speech translation and transcription services are migrating to the machine enabling workers to interact with machines through voice commands. By replacing the physical movement of a human pressing a button on a machine with a voice command, factories save 4 seconds of time, which on a large assembly line quickly add up.[vii] Similarly, visual analytics allows remote asset supervision, reducing the need for on-site staff and shrinking the overall workforce. These advancements also help cut emissions, as fewer workers commuting to work or traveling between sites and reduces the industry’s cumulative carbon footprint.

Taken together, these technological advancements both streamline energy operations and create a future workforce that is smaller, smarter, more capable, and more efficient. These innovations help pave the way for a more sustainable future.

Workforce flexibility and accessibility

The way people work and learn is evolving, driven by advances in technology and changing worker expectations. Online education platforms and virtual training programs have become key tools for preparing the workforce to function successfully today.[viii] In 1995, 4% of organisations used online learning, compared to over 90% today.[ix]

Over 40% of Fortune 500 companies use online learning regularly as part of their training approach.[x] These learning platforms offer anytime, anywhere access to learning, allowing workers to acquire new skills just when they need them. Next-generation workers, who are already comfortable learning from YouTube and other online resources, are particularly well-suited to this model. Energy companies that tap into these flexible training solutions have the edge in helping their employees adapt quickly to new roles and technologies.

At the same time, hybrid and remote work models are now much more the norm in the energy sector, though they bring unique challenges. Remote work surged during the pandemic, but there has been growing pressure to return to the office, especially in industries where physical presence has traditionally been the expectation. Much of the energy world relies on physical operations, from drilling sites to refineries, which makes full remote work impractical for many roles. However, advances in technology are enabling a shift toward more flexible arrangements, even in hands-on environments.

Global connectivity is playing a key role in these changes. With faster and more reliable communication tools, workers can collaborate effectively from anywhere in the world. Remote operations, such as those using drones, are a prime example. A drone inspecting a pipeline in a remote area or a flare stack at a refinery can now be operated by a technician from thousands of miles away. This ability to manage physical assets remotely reduces the need for on-site personnel, making operations more efficient and safer.

Digital infrastructure, such as connectivity tools, cloud solutions, standard operating processes, uniform enterprise technologies, and process automators enable dramatically new forms of process execution through third parties in remote global centers. Many sectors with highly sensitive, high risk processes, from resource accounting to passport issuance to health claims processing, have successfully turned to these creative solutions to address critical labor shortages.

The combination of online training, hybrid work options, advanced connectivity, and shared common digital infrastructure is giving the energy workforce more flexibility than ever before. By leveraging these innovations, companies can create a more agile workforce that is equipped to handle the demands of the future.

Energy transition and new opportunities

The global energy transition is reshaping the landscape of traditional energy businesses, creating new opportunities for growth and diversification. As industries across the board strive to reduce their carbon footprints, demand is rising for new energy solutions. The hyperscalers have all announced partnerships with traditional energy companies to deliver the power they require for their data centers. The door is now open for traditional energy companies to expand into areas such as new energy delivery, energy efficiency services, renewable energy integration, and carbon capture technologies. By leveraging their expertise, energy companies can position themselves as critical partners in helping other sectors achieve their sustainability goals.

Collaboration is a second key driver of innovation in the energy workforce. Industry players are reaching beyond their traditional fence line to include partnerships with industry peers, universities, government R&D labs, and incubators. Collaborations such as the Pathways Alliance drive a culture of shared knowledge and joint problem-solving, which accelerates the pace of technological advancements.[xi]

Cross-industry collaboration also imbues the workforce with insights and expertise from adjacent sectors. For instance, the challenges of operating in extreme environments, such as the Arctic or offshore locations, have brought together mining, oil and gas, and aerospace industries to share best practices and develop new solutions.[xii] These partnerships not only deliver superior technical solutions quickly, but also provide spin-off opportunities that contribute to an innovative and adaptable workforce.

Energy transition creates the conditions for greater collaboration, enabling traditional energy companies to expand their operations and strengthen their position in a highly competitive marketplace. The ability to integrate new ideas and expertise will be a defining feature of the workforce of the future.

Conclusion: Seizing the workforce opportunities

The energy industry is at a very important intersection, where challenges and opportunities merge to shape the workforce of the future. While the hurdles outlined in the previous paper are without question very daunting, the opportunities shared here argue equally strongly in favor of a path forward that is full of potential.

Forces beyond the industry ensure that the energy workforce of the future is smaller. It is the choices of the industry that also make that workforce more efficient, lower carbon, and highly adaptable. Advances in automation, connectivity, and remote operations not only improve productivity but also thoroughly reshape how and where work gets done. The energy transition is opening doors to entirely new fields, while collaboration across industries and disciplines holds the potential to deepen the talent pool.

The companies that succeed in this new setting will be those that embrace change and invest in the tools, partnerships, and strategies needed to build a future-ready workforce. By leveraging technology, fostering collaboration, and aligning with the values of a new generation, the energy sector can redefine how it operates, delivering solutions that are not just effective but also sustainable.