Abstract
Competency development in petroleum engineers is a life-long process. It starts with the undergraduate education and continues on throughout the career of the petroleum engineer. In this paper, we have identified the key competencies that need to be developed in the next generation of petroleum engineers in light of the increasingly complex, interdisciplinary and global nature of petroleum projects. These key competencies include dimensionsnot found in traditional petroleum engineering and geoscience (PE&G) programs such as leadership, health, safety and environment (HSE), interdisciplinary and intercultural competencies. Our research has shown that geophysics training is missing in most undergraduate PE&G programs. In addition, leadership training at the undergraduate level is a key need for future readiness of petroleum engineering students. The remaining core competencies, HSE, interdisciplinary and intercultural competency, are mostly learned at the workplace. Both university educators, corporate trainers and managers need to adapt their pedagogical methods to build competencies in Generation Y petroleum engineers. Suggestions of what they can do are given. To be effective trainers, they need to act more like mentors than teachers and supervisors.
