Depletion of the Knowledge Base in the African Oil and Gas Industry -Women to the Rescue

Abstract

Growing the African Oil and Gas industry requires a highly skilled and talented workforce for improved innovation and sustainability. With the increased job mobility and migration of the male workforce, it is imperative that the industry considers the emerging dynamics and seek other avenues for growing and securing local talent pool. The current workforce in the oil and gas industry is predominantly male with a sprinkling of females in the existing talent and skill pool and even fewer opportunities for females in leadership roles. Diversity and inclusion initiative has recently helped to encourage policies that promote some considerations for the female workforce. However, there is still more work to be done. This paper sets out a discourse on the issues, challenges and prospects for the oil and gas industry in Africa with primary focus on policies that identify and adequately utilize the skills and talents of the female workforce; maximizing their ingenuity in knowledge management and capacity building for the advancement and sustainability of the sector. The exposition will recommend insightful roadmap towards ensuring consistent retention and improvement of the knowledge base in the industry as well as means and ways of attracting qualified and talented females.