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Even with salaries 5,7 times higher than the average, the oil industry suffers from a lack of qualified professionals, threatening its growth.
Brazil's oil industry is booming, but the euphoria could be dampened by a surprising factor: the lack of qualified professionals.
Even with salaries that are 5,7 times higher than the average in other sectors, companies are facing serious difficulties in filling open positions.
A true “labor shortage” threatens the growth of the sector, which has already been feeling the impacts of this shortage, even with incentives and attractive salaries.
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Since 2020, the oil sector in Brazil has been registering significant growth, with an increase of more than 40% in formal employment, according to data from the new General Register of Employed and Unemployed Persons (Caged).
Despite criticism from environmentalists, oil exploration continues to break records, driven by global demand and the potential of pre-salt discoveries, which leads to an increased need for qualified labor.
The growing demand for vacancies in the sector
According to the executive secretary of Abespetro, Telmo Ghiorzi, the sector is expected to continue growing until at least 2029, supported by investments already contracted for oil platforms.
Oil companies operating in Brazil have communicated to the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) their plans to install 42 new production units between 2024 and 2028, which should demand more BRL 500 billion in investments in the period.
The exploration sector, which searches for new oil reserves, is also experiencing a boom, with the largest number of exploratory blocks under contract in the country's history.
However, the sector already faces a serious problem: the lack of qualified professionals. According to Roberto Ardenghy, president of the Brazilian Petroleum Institute (IBP), in interview with the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, accelerated growth puts the sector at risk of a “labor shortage”.
“We are not training enough people. There is currently no strategy for training human resources for this sector,” he says.
Sector offers attractive salaries, but qualifications are still a barrier
What makes this situation even more alarming is that despite the high salaries, vacancies remain difficult to fill. According to Ardenghy, for only 14 platforms planned by Petrobras, about 10 ... eight thousand people embarked.
He also highlights that the sector pays 5,7 times the average salary from other industries for the same professionals, which highlights how serious the problem of lack of qualifications is.
The difficulty is not exclusive to large oil companies. Service providers like Ocyan face similar bottlenecks. This September, as published by CPG, Ocyan opened 500 vacancies for platform maintenance.
However, according to reports, the company is having difficulty finding qualified candidates. “The biggest bottleneck, when we talk about the vigorous growth of the sector, is labor, how companies will find the number of professionals they need in the market”, explains Jorge Mitidieri, president of Ocyan.
Segments most impacted by the lack of labor
The situation is equally challenging for oil production support companies, which provide crucial services such as transportation of inputs and installation of subsea equipment.
The sector is asking for support from the Navy to boost the training of qualified personnel. In addition, there are concerns about the impact of this labor shortage on long-term projects.
The Institute of Socioeconomic Studies (INESC) also questions the massive use of government subsidies that have driven the sector's growth.
According to a recent study, there were R$260 billion in subsidies between 2015 and 2023, a value considered high for a sector that, for many, should be transitioning to more sustainable energy sources.
“The government argues that our emissions problem is associated with deforestation and land use,” comments Alessandra Cardoso, political advisor at Inesc, who criticizes the lack of a broader debate on the topic.
Pressure from environmentalists and the challenges facing the sector
Environmental organizations, such as NGO 350.org, have been pressuring the Brazilian government to include fossil fuel reduction targets in international commitments.
During the Brazilian presidency of the G20, which takes place in November 2024, the group advocates that Brazil lead a global movement for energy transition.
According to activist Maria Victoria Emanuelli, “Brazil has the immense responsibility of sending bold and ambitious signals to countries around the world… we must nip the cause of the climate crisis in the bud: by stopping burning oil, gas and coal and financing a just transition.”
According to Ardenghy, However, the reality is that oil will still be consumed for many years, and Brazilian production, which emits less greenhouse gases, helps decarbonize global industry. “If Brazil stops producing oil, the world will emit more,” argues the president of IBP.
He also highlights that oil is a important driver of the national economy. In recent years, the sector was responsible for part of the growth in Brazil's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), especially in the second quarter of 2024, when the extractive industry grew 1% compared to the previous year, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The future of production and the risk of contraction
With ongoing investments, national oil production should grow from the current 4 million to over 5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030.
However, to avoid a drop in production in the next decade, the sector defends the need for explore new frontiers, as equatorial margin.
Given this reality, is Brazil prepared to deal with the challenges of qualifying its workforce and, at the same time, continue to be a global reference in the oil sector?
