Great demand for gas exploration experts
Largest Western gas sector companies are competing for graduates of the AGH University of Science and Technology who specialise in gas exploration - told Stanisław Nagy, head of the gas engineering department of the Faculty of Drilling, Oil and Gas, AGH in Kraków.
Gas engineering graduates receive employment offers from foreign
companies that have the unconventional gas exploration concessions in
Poland. "Some AGH gas engineering students find jobs already during the
second year, but not as a rule" - Nagy told.
According to
unofficial statements of representatives of companies, which hire
students and graduates, earnings of graduates at the beginning of the
work are well above the national average wage. With experience, the
salaries increases. Extra money is earned on foreign contracts.
"Our
graduates are in very high demand. Many foreign and domestic companies
fight for them. At the moment we are signing contracts for practical
training with Chevron, Marathon Oil, Talisman, we already have contracts
with Halliburton and Shlumberger" - said the scientist. "We also
cooperate with Danish and German companies" - he added.
"At the
moment we have an additional motivation for students and graduates who
seek employment because unconventional gas is an amazing challenge for
us - the whole world is looking at us now" - said Nagy.
Each year
students benefit from practices, seminars, every year there are
interviews; this way companies get to know our students and offer them
jobs after graduation. "Last year, Halliburton hired a dozen of our
graduates. They prepared a test for 60 people and selected more than 15
of them. Shlumberger hires 5-6 people per year, other companies - 2-3" -
he said.
Polish companies such as PGNiG or oil and gas
exploration businesses also hire AGH graduates, but they do not have
such financial capacities and incentives as foreign companies. "You
could say that they are draining our staff. Graduates who stay are the
ones who already have commitments in Poland, for example, they have
started families, those, for whom it is harder to leave the country" -
said Nagy.
Spokeswoman for Poszukiwania Nafty i Gazu (PNIG, Oil
and Gas Exploration) Kraków Agnieszka Sioła admitted that domestic
companies are having problems with recruiting personnel from the
world-renowned AGH. "Graduates from drilling and geophysics at AGH are
the most demanded students, often +booked+ already half through their
studies, associated with Western companies through scholarships,
practices and job offers" - Sioła told.
She stressed that it
is a profession for globetrotters, because drilling operations are
conducted around the world. "We have contracts in Uganda, Mozambique,
Kazakhstan. In Kazakhstan, at the end of 2010 our company made the
deepest borehole - over 7 thousand m. It is an interesting place of
work" - she emphasised. Due to the shortage of Polish employees, the
company also hires others - for example, the Kazakhs work in Uganda -
she said.
Nagy said that the two majors - Oil Mining and Geology,
which has existed since the beginning of the department and new one,
Oil and Gas Engineering - accept 150 candidates for Bachelor level
studies. 100 students are accepted for Master's courses. In his view, it
is the optimal number of students, adjusted to the capabilities of the
teaching staff. "In addition to learning there are also research tasks,
and lecturers in our department do not work at several universities,
because we are basically the only place where such specialists are
trained" - he emphasised.
The department’s cooperation with
businesses is not limited to internships. "We use their specialized
computer programs, we are trying to test their technical and scientific
solutions. These companies specialize in what they do and employ tens of
thousands of people, not few dozens like our faculty. We organize joint
seminars, we use their presentations on studied issues. We are active
in the world association of petroleum engineers" - he explained.
"Thanks
to these contacts, every year we have about 6 lecturers with the
world's highest level of expertise. They give lectures for students, but
graduates, engineers also participate, because lecturers presents
innovative solutions, trends, practical insights" - he said. "AGH is
also cooperating with universities around the world. Our department
currently has 12 visiting professors from other universities" - he
added.
Due to the great interest, the department intends to
launch Master’s courses in English for engineers from around the world.
"We are working on launching 4 semester gas engineering course in
English. We are preparing the Master’s course in cooperation with the
Norwegians. We have an incredible number of applications - more than 100
engineers from around the world, willing to study at a higher level. We
must respond to this demand" - stressed Nagy in an interview. (PAP)
last modification: 2011-05-23
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