Industry View

More than most industries, the process industry faces intense competition and increasing regulation. These factors are changing the nature of work, the knowledge requirements, and the skills workers need to perform.

Successful process manufacturing companies are addressing these issues through intellectual capital investment and ensuring a knowledgeable workforce through training and development. They recognize that safe operations, improved efficiency, increased quality, and compliance all depend on a more knowledgeable workforce.

Serious challenges include:

Industry Consolidation / Establishing Best Practices

• Aligning newly-acquired organizations with established best practices and sharing knowledge is critical to meeting performance and corporate compliance objectives
• Consolidating operations jobs within facilities requires workers to possess and maintain broader skill sets

Skilled Workforce Attrition

• Retiring baby boomers have extensive experience that cannot be immediately replaced
• More knowledgeable workers are needed to fill vacancies created by retiring workers

Training Resource Limitations

• Traditional training initiatives use generic "pre-packaged" programs that do not address job-specific knowledge proficiency
• Hours available for traditional training are reaching cost effective limits, risking information overload

Compliance Mandates

• Process manufacturing sites are heavily regulated environments for safety, environmental, and quality standards
• Regulations will continue to expand the knowledge required, the sites covered and the workforce impacted

"It was important to Chevron to work with a company that really knew our industry and understood our operating issues."

Training Specialist
Chevron USA