"There has been a dramatic slowdown both globally and locally," Hays O&G Australia business director Paula Kirwan told ENP.
"Having said this, Australia experienced a tightening in the market prior to the oil price downturn, so the impact of the downturn in oil prices has not been as dramatic here. For example, in Queensland many projects had moved into the next phase so had already mobilised staff elsewhere. In Australia it has been more about changes in sentiment rather than the effects of the lower oil price."
On the most downturn-proof oil and gas jobs, Kirwan said operations and maintenance professionals continue to be in demand as they are needed to maintain assets.
Skilled workers from the Curtis Island-based LNG projects are also expected to have plenty of demand from other parts of the world.
"There is no doubt the skilled workforce from the Queensland Curtis LNG project and more recently the Gladstone LNG project will be in demand, just as the tight gas/shale workforce of North America were attractive to the Queensland market over the last few years," Kirwan said.
"The oil and gas fraternity is truly mobile so candidates will look globally for opportunities. Given that Queensland has 15% of the LNG specialist workforce, the state holds the skills that will be in demand for the LNG projects opening up in North America, Canada and Africa."
While an Adelaide-based Today Tonight segment on "useless university degrees" earlier this month included the views of an engineering graduate who could not find work, Kirwan said engineering remained the most in demand tertiary qualification for the oil and gas industry while increasing demand is expected for geoscience specialists globally.
"Given that the bulk of graduate recruiters into the oil and gas industry are US/global companies, the knock on effect is difficult to assess over such a short time frame - it will be interesting to see how that may change in the next 12 months," Kirwan told ENP.
"Furthermore, graduates are the last to be affected as they can often be utilised across an organisation globally in a more cost effective way than experienced staff. We have to remember that there is still a skills shortage in the industry. Add the significant percentage of the workforce that is approaching retirement age and companies will need to invest in and retain graduates in order to ensure their future talent pipelines.
"Engineering graduates will have more than just oil and gas employment options available to them and given the current growth in infrastructure projects in Australia, there will be opportunities for most."
While job cuts are continuing to hit the UK's price-challenged North Sea oil industry, Kirwan had not witnessed any resulting ramp up in North Sea workers arriving here but said they could suit current projects in Western Australia and northwest Australia.
In terms of other trends, she said more contractor recruitment in the oil and gas business will occur.
"We also expect more organisations to outsource their recruitment processes and partner with recruitment companies that have a global reach, robust systems and insights into the oil and gas market," she said.
