For years the industry has been faced with the inevitable outcome to its history of matching workforce levels to commodity prices – the Great Crew Change. A graph of the industry’s age distribution looks like a cross-section of a canyon – decent numbers of young people, a lot of older people, and not much in the middle.

Many industry ventures have targeted school children in an effort to encourage more students to pursue studies in math and science, and these will no doubt help to maintain a steady stream of well-trained graduates to swell industry ranks in the future. But a 22-year-old college graduate with a degree in petroleum engineering can’t fill the gap left by a 62-year-old retiree who had 40 years of experience.

In these pages we examine the current issues plaguing the industry in terms of recruiting, retention, training, knowledge transfer, etc. But we also offer suggestions. For instance, recruiting on college campuses might be more effective if technical employees do the outreach, not human resources professionals. And college campuses aren’t the only place to look for qualified employees. One program takes low-income adults and provides them with technical training. Another program is helping place former NASA employees into high-level engineering jobs.

Once workers are employed, concerns revolve around retention and training. But companies must also be aware of cultural differences since so many employees come from other countries. They must also contend with dual-career couples, a much more common phenomenon now than even 20 years ago. And they need to be sure that their employees are getting training that is meaningful to their career growth.

Companies that can manage the myriad challenges of hiring and retaining in the 21st century will be rewarded with a skilled, engaged workforce that helps them stay on top of their game.