Workforce Development Initiative

A large percentage of the current U.S. workforce is going to retire within the next 5 –10 years.  For the energy sector the effect of this “Great Crew Change” is further heightened as the number of students pursuing technical careers has declined over the past two decades. As advances in technology are essential to meeting the world’s energy needs, Shell Oil Company has launched a variety of activities to help increase the numbers of students choosing a technical career path. 

The Shell Workforce Development Initiative (WDI) was created through alignment of our social and community investment activities with business needs to strengthen our talent pipeline. WDI helps address critical engineering, geoscientist, operator, crafts, and maintenance disciplines and avoid worker shortages. As the workforce issues extend across the energy industry, we collaborate with education, government, industry associations and external diversity organizations to bridge the impending gap. Examples include:

Teacher externships
Shell served as the title sponsor for the “A+ Teacher Externships” in which 100 teachers from Houston school districts completed a one-week externships in participating companies across the city. Shell’s program aimed to increase awareness about the energy industry and careers and was rated as “one of the best” by participants.

Teach for America
Shell is the largest corporate sponsor of “Teach for America” (TFA) in Houston, which supports the placement of 20 teachers in underserved communities across Houston Expanding effort to support communities in New Orleans and Denver TFA teachers have a goal to increase student academic achievement by 1.5 grade levels each year

Shell Robert Training Center
Shell brings top engineering students and professors from across the U.S. to a one-week residential engineering camp. Participants learn about the oil industry’s  exploration and production business by taking part in classroom training, helicopter crash survival training and presentations from senior leaders from the various businesses. In 2007 the camp hosted attendants from six universities and will be expanded to host participants from thirteen universities in 2008. Learn more about the Shell Robert Training Center.

Executive Leadership Council (ELC)  Business Case Competition
The ELC was founded in 1986 with the mission is to develop the pipeline of African- American senior corporate leaders. In 2007, Shell served as the title sponsor and host for the 2007 ELC Business Case Competition. Students from 39 university MBA programs analyzed a real life Shell business case, discussed it with a jury of senior leaders (from Shell) and make recommendations.

Shell Process Technology internships
Since 2001, the Shell Chemical Geismar Internship program gives students from three local area technical and community colleges the opportunity to complete and internship at the plant. Until today, more than 60 interns participated in this program. An additional 116 students from across the U.S. gained practical experience in Shell’s upstream business working as offshore or onshore interns at our Exploration and Production facilities. Apply for an internship.

Mathcounts®
Shell is a national contributor to MATHCOUNTS®, a national enrichment, coaching and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement through grassroots involvement across the U.S.

Milby High School Academy for Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology
As a sponsor of this intiative, Shell helps to give students an advanced academic, hands on learning experience in science math and the emerging technology concepts of the petroleum industry.

VIVA Technology
Shell is a corporate sponsor of this national program, run by HENAAC (Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference). The program aims to engage inner city and rural K-12 students, teachers and parents in the applications of technology, in order to stimulate interest in math, science and engineering. Teacher and parent orientation sessions are run in both English and Spanish and the program also provides scholarships and career conferences.

Future City competition
Shell is one of the main sponsors of the National Engineers Week Future City Competition, which is an educational program for 7th- and 8th-grade students that helps foster their interest in math, science and engineering. The students compete in teams with their teachers and engineer mentors, to design a city of the future, introduces them to different types of engineering, from civil to electrical, chemical to mechanical.

Educational Website
Designed for middle and high school students and teachers Shell’s award-winning Energize Your Future website aims to educate students about energy related topics and supply teachers with classroom material to teach their students about the exciting world of energy.

Shell is part of the American Petroleum Institute Committee, which funded “The earth could be your office” campaign in collaboration with Monster.com. This campaign aims to stimulate 11th and 12th grader’s interest in the energy industry and the careers it offers. Shell is also part of the Rockies Energy Workforce Collaboration, a partnership of industry, education, local and state workforce, and economic development leaders, which aims to ensure an adequate supply of skilled energy workers in the Rockies region.