A third-panel discussion was held on the third day of EGYPS 2023 activities during the Equality in Energy entitled: “Attracting Millennials and Gen Z into the energy sector.
The speakers discussed mechanisms to attract young people to work in the energy sector while introducing incentives to attract the youth to work in this crucial sector.
At the outset, Manal Messiha, Vice President of Customer Satisfaction & Quality at Schneider Electric, stressed the importance of providing the necessary education for young people and developing their different abilities, pointing out that her company encourages youth to continue learning, as there are many available platforms for training.
She pointed out the importance of supporting young people to innovate after receiving the required training and encouraging them to implement their new ideas, adding that Schneider Electric helps young generations to participate in the decision-making process and works to select some new ideas suitable for implementation and benefit from their results.
While Aldo Costantini, General Manager and Managing Director of Energean AQP, said that his company aims to hire new employees and is constantly eager to improve and enhance their talents. He said that the company employs roughly 800 individuals, the majority of whom are young.
Costantini explained that w must develop new technologies to satisfy both the Melliianiealls GenZ requirements and demands to help them achieve their dreams and meet their aspirations
He added that the energy sector is characterized by its presence in various places, as the sector companies operate in administrative headquarters, in the desert, and so forth. Thus, the door should be open for communication with young people through media and digital platforms and presenting the available opportunities in the sector.
For his part, Abubakar Ibrahim, Vice President & General Manager at IPR Energy, affirmed that the energy sector pays attention to its workforce training programs. He noted that it provides training courses to develop their skills, adding that in the downstream industries sector, for example, it mainly focuses its training programs on sustainability and environmental issues. They also provide training courses for engineers and technicians, putting in mind the economic conditions. Ibrahim noted that his company is also keen on providing training courses for its top management and executives.
He continued that IPR Energy always strives to provide a more flexible work environment, and is keen to assess the environmental impact and reduce environmental risks, stressing that sustainability is a fundamental pillar in the energy sector.
In the same context, Salma Al Hajeri, Regional Vice President, East-Med & North Africa, Operations MENA & Russia at Mubadala Energy, affirmed that the energy industry aims to attract youth into its workforce to act as role models for the younger generation.
She also stressed the need for companies to provide modern technologies that keep pace with the requirements of the youth, as the new generation deals with technology daily. She added that the sector required to communicate with and open dialogues with students within the energy industry in the early educational stages. Mubadala currently operates in various countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand to communicate with students, as the company offers about 5,000 scholarships.
Al Hajeri added that we should cooperate with society to provide sustainable clean energy at affordable prices.
However, Soukaïna Chefchaouni, Legal Counsel for North Africa at ENGIE, noted that there are misconceptions among young people about the energy sector, and it is necessary to work on correcting this information among the youth and attracting them.
She added, “For example, I had a young trainee who wanted to work as an oil engineer, and her only idea of working in the sector was to be present daily in the outdoor sites and the desert, and when I explained to her that we have many female engineers who work daily in the administrative headquarters and they are rarely going to the external sites. She was significantly motivated to join the field and work in the energy sector, and of course, she changed her misconception.
