With many engineering disciplines projected to have a shortage of workers in the next 10 years and the impending retirement of many senior-level employees, there has been an emphasis on identifying job competencies and skills gaps. SPE, and others, have developed a variety of tools to identify and address these and help members ready themselves for the emerging realities of the future workplace, further their careers, and meet employers’ expectations. As the SPE Soft Skills Committee reported in the February 2016 issue of JPT(Fig. 1), the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) released an Engineering Competency Model (CMT) in July 2015. The group engaged subject matter experts from its 17 member societies to develop the model in conjunction with the US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration over a 2-year period. The administration partners with industries and professions to develop and maintain dynamic models of the foundational and technical competencies that are necessary in economically vital industries and sectors of the American economy. SPE’s parent organization, the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) participated as a member society. AIME interfaced with SPE training staff during development of this model. The creation of the competency model included an examination of existing bodies of knowledge, as well as the inclusion and involvement of the stakeholders within the engineering community, including associations, industry, and academia. The tool was vetted via a webinar, a survey, and an in-person review session. The team built the model to provide a universal standard for the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary not only for entering the engineering profession but also for maintaining proficiency during one’s career. It is also helpful to employers, educators, associations, and economic developers. While the Department of Labor has used this pyramidal template to develop models for 23 industries, engineering was the first profession for which this was used. Additional detail can be found at https://www.careeronestop. org/CompetencyModel/. Bridging the Engineering Competency Model  With SPE’s Competency Work The ECM competencies are laid out in pyramidal fashion to display foundational skills typically learned earlier in life underneath those skills acquired in later stages of educational and workplace achievement. But it stops short of identifying competencies for specific engineering disciplines and jobs. This is where most of SPE’s technical competencies come in.

AIME Almost everyone in the oil and gas industry is more or less familiar with SPE and its contributions to the industry. But many may not know that SPE has a parent organization: the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). AIME was established in 1871 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, as the American Institute of Mining Engineers. In 1904, AIME became one of the founding societies along with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE, later IEEE) to form the United Engineering Society. In 1912, the Iron and Steel Division was created, and in 1918, the American Institute of Metals joined AIME, and the new organization, while still AIME, was called the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. In 1922, the petroleum division of the AIME was formed. AIME continued to grow until 1956 when AIME officially became the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. During the 1950s, the petroleum membership of AIME grew rap-idly, warranting the formation of SPE as the petroleum industry’s professional society in 1957 with a membership of approximately 12,500. In 1973, AIME started the process of decentralization and, as a result, SPE became a separately incorporated entity in 1985. Today, AIME is a federation of four not-for-profit professional societies: SPE (with more than 100,000 members); the Association of Iron and Steel Technology (15,000 members); the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (14,000 members); and The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (12,000 members). AIME operates under a foundation model, governed by an eight-member Board of Trustees, two appointed by each member society. An executive director manages its operation. The presidency of AIME rotates among its four member societies. Its mission is to support its member societies, through exercising fiscal responsibility, distributing funds, facilitating interaction with the larger scientific and engineering community, enhancing collaboration among the member societies, and honoring the legacy and traditions of AIME. AIME’s vision is to be a relevant and valued partner to its member societies. AIME’s principal activities include funding projects and programs through distributions and grant opportunities, providing forums to share best practices and facilitate collaboration among the engineering and scientific community, and presenting awards and scholarships that honor the AIME legacy and recognize outstanding members and promising students.