The energy industry is changing faster than the talent pipelines designed to support it. New technologies, shifting geopolitical realities, and accelerating energy innovation are reshaping how work gets done, where it happens, and which skills matter most. For leaders who have moved between field operations and executive environments, one reality becomes clear very quickly: building a global energy workforce is about designing systems that develop, engage, and retain people across cultures, regions, and generations.
As a young field engineer, I learned that the heartbeat of our sector resides in those who, day in and day out, brave the elements and operational challenges to keep energy moving. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with crews, I saw how resilience, adaptability, and a solution-seeking mindset aren’t just technical requirements; they’re the very DNA of our global workforce.
Years later, as I transitioned into leadership roles, I found similarities with the field. The leadership challenges of navigating uncertainty, empowering teams, and driving innovation are rooted in the very principles I learned on the rig floor. The real difference lies in scale and perspective, from managing equipment and daily operations to shaping strategy, culture, and vision. My journey has taught me that the heart of the energy industry is not in its machines or markets, but in its people, their resilience, ingenuity, and shared drive.
Serving in both roles, as Europe workforce manager and field development and engagement manager, offered a rare vantage point. I saw firsthand how strategic workforce decisions made in boardrooms play out on rig sites and across project teams worldwide. I also saw that misalignment can create friction, disengagement, or lost potential. The most successful energy organizations treat workforce development as a core operating discipline, not an HR afterthought.
Developing Engineers Who Can Grow With the Energy Transition
The next generation of energy engineers is entering an industry defined by rapid change. Digital tools, automation, data-driven operations, and new energy models are becoming as crucial as traditional engineering fundamentals. Yet many organizations still train people for static roles rather than evolving careers. This creates a gap between technical capability and long-term readiness.
A helpful metaphor is treating workforce development like reservoir management rather than extraction. If you only focus on immediate output, you eventually deplete capacity. Sustainable performance comes from investing early, monitoring flow, and planning for regeneration. In practice, this means creating development pathways that blend technical depth with systems thinking, digital literacy, and leadership skills. Engineers should understand not only how systems work, but how decisions ripple across safety, cost, sustainability, and community impact.
Field experience remains critical. Time spent close to operations builds judgment that cannot be replicated the same way as in classrooms or simulations. But that experience must be intentionally connected to a broader business context. Rotational programs, structured mentorship, and exposure to cross-functional teams help engineers see beyond their immediate scope.
Some of the field development initiatives I have always enjoyed seeing in action due to their impact are the mentorship pairing program, whereby junior field engineers are paired with senior field engineers who are going through similar career programs to offer guidance on the training programs, pitfalls to avoid, and overall support as they navigate identical fixed-step paths.
Another initiative is quarterly informal chat/interviews with leadership professionals from different functions to provide insight into the various roles/functions that could be of interest to field employees as they progress, and how they have navigated their career journey from field to office roles.
Cross-Cultural Leadership is a Capability, not a Soft Skill
Global energy organizations operate across borders, cultures, and regulatory environments. Yet cross-cultural leadership is often treated as an implicit expectation rather than an explicit capability to be developed. This assumption leads to misunderstandings, misaligned incentives, and missed opportunities for collaboration.
Leading across cultures is less about knowing etiquette and more about understanding how decisions are made, how authority is perceived, and how trust is built in different contexts. Think of it like working with other grid standards. The voltage may vary, the connectors may look different, but the system still needs to operate safely and reliably. Leaders who adapt without losing clarity create environments where teams can perform without friction.
Effective cross-cultural leadership starts with listening. Leaders who have worked both in regional workforce roles and in field engagement understand that global strategies must be interpreted locally. Standardization provides consistency, but flexibility ensures relevance. Clear expectations paired with local autonomy allow teams to innovate while staying aligned with organizational goals.
Investing in cross-cultural leadership training pays dividends. It reduces attrition, accelerates onboarding, and strengthens collaboration across regions. More importantly, it signals respect. When people feel understood rather than managed, engagement follows.
Early in my career as a field engineer, I worked on a project in a region where most of my team came from a different cultural background and spoke a language other than my own. Technical meetings were often conducted in the local language, leaving me feeling somewhat excluded and unsure if my inputs were truly understood. To overcome this, I focused on active listening, learned key phrases in the local language, and made a conscious effort to understand and respect cultural nuances. I also scheduled informal one-on-one conversations, which helped build trust with my team members. Over time, this fostered mutual respect, bridged the communication gap, and ultimately helped us deliver the project ahead of schedule with an exemplary safety record.
What I have learned in my career is that while cross-cultural challenges are real, they also offer tremendous opportunities for personal growth, team cohesion, and operational success when approached with openness and empathy.
Aligning Talent Mobility With the Pace of Energy Innovation
Energy innovation is accelerating, but workforce systems often lag behind. New projects demand new skills quickly, yet internal mobility processes can be slow, rigid, or opaque. This mismatch creates frustration and forces organizations to look externally when internal talent could have grown into the role.
Talent mobility should function like a well-designed logistics network. Skills move where they are needed most, bottlenecks are anticipated, and transitions are supported rather than improvised. For global energy organizations, this means making mobility a strategic lever rather than a reactive solution.
Clear visibility into skills, aspirations, and readiness is essential. Engineers and technical professionals are more likely to stay when they see a future within the organization. Short-term international assignments, cross-project deployments, and hybrid field-and-office roles help retain institutional knowledge while expanding capabilities.
From a leadership perspective, aligning mobility with innovation requires courage. It means allowing high performers to move rather than hoard them. It means designing succession with intention rather than convenience. Organizations that embrace this approach build resilience. They can adapt to new technologies and markets without constant reinvention.
Workforce mobility is vital to the energy industry’s agility and talent development, but it can undermine operational continuity if not managed effectively. Success relies on strong handover routines, robust knowledge sharing, and a culture that values both individual growth and team stability. With the right processes, mobility and continuity can work hand in hand to strengthen performance and drive success in a dynamic industry.
Ultimately, building the global energy workforce is about alignment. Alignment between strategy and development, between global standards and local realities, between innovation and people. Leaders who have lived in both the field and the boardroom understand that talent systems either enable progress or quietly slow it down.
The energy industry has always been global. What is new is the speed of change and the expectations of the next generation. By investing in development, cultivating cross-cultural leadership, and enabling meaningful mobility, organizations can build a workforce that is not only capable of meeting today’s demands but also prepared for what comes next.
