Conspicuously absent over the past few years from the SPE network of Young Professionals, the Canadian Section proudly announces the inception of its Emerging Leaders Program (ELP). Calgary, Alberta, is home to the Canadian Section and also headquarters for several E&P companies that employ most of our members. There is no doubt that young E&P professionals in Canada have always been among the most innovative and dedicated in the industry. The newly formed ELP will seek to foster and develop talent through various initiatives. The ELP will serve as a forum to network, develop members’ professional/technical skills, engage them in their own special interests, provide access to premium continuing education, give them mentoring opportunities, and allow them to become active participants in SPE.
Following the guidelines set out by SPE YEPPs, our mandate will be to provide an easily accessible infrastructure to help develop the careers of our young professionals. The Canadian Section is well positioned to extend tremendous benefits to our young members, and we recognize that the future of our section and the Society hinges on our young members. Also, the success of our young professionals will ensure quality stewardship of the industry in the future.
One of the challenges that the Canadian petroleum industry faces is corporate diversity in the E&P environment. Structured career development, in the form of education and mentoring, is intrinsic to some organizations. However, over the last few years, there has been a trend of young professionals being forced to seek such opportunities externally. Consequently, there is a clear disparity in accessibility to effective career guidance. One core area in which the ELP will clearly add value is in the creation of “back to basics” seminars, which will serve to enforce some of the essential skills for the professional development of our young members.
As a new ELP, we are excited about becoming a link in the global chain of young professionals in the petroleum industry. Julio Soriano, our ELP Director, has taken an active role as a member of the YEPP Coordinating Committee. Through his involvement with other YEPP/ELP Directors, we hope to share our experiences with our global counterparts to generate new ideas and improve the program.
Our ELP inaugural event was a Christmas mixer in December. Look for pictures and updates in the next issue, where we will also introduce our board of directors.
Eve Sprunt, 2006 SPE President, attends breakfast meeting with Canadian section members.
