A recent Economist Intelligence Unit report on the future of the oil & gas sector canvassed the views of nearly 200 board-level executives and policymakers on a range crucial industry affairs, from new investment opportunities to future regulatory challenges and the rise of a new breed of'internationalized' national oil companies over the next decade.rnOne of the key findings from the subsequent round table discussion (facilitated by GL Noble Denton) was that more needs to be done to develop the next generation of oil and gas professionals. Faced with a period of investment and expansion, the sector will come against challenges as a result of its failure to attract, recruit and retain highly talented people. The discussion concluded that the industry needs to work more closely together to address the skills problem, rather than trying to pursue each others' technical staff. With activity set to rise in the sector, companies need to focus on introducing and developing technical resource now, ensuring that the right talent is in place for the future.rnAtkins has been helping the UK nuclear industry to overcome similar challenges in recent years.rnThe UK nuclear supply base had been gradually declining over the last 20 years since the completion of the last power station at Sizewell. This has been compounded by the hold placed on the deep waste repository and the prolonged hiatus between the Vanguard class submarine program and the Astute class Submarines in the defense sector. This has led to government concerns that the UK capability would not be sustainable, with many of the current UK nuclear support needs more design and major project related than the consultancy type work of the last two decades. This requires a greater focus on technical assurance and process compliance to ensure that project delivery and quality risk is managed appropriately.rnThis paper outlines the processes that Atkins is using to increase staff numbers and develop its in-house technical expertise in response to the current and anticipated needs of the UK nuclear industry; whilst at the same time ensuring technical quality is maintained and project delivery risk is minimized.
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