First discussed at the SPE Young Oil & Gas Professionals Workshop in Stresa, Italy, in 2003, the SPE Young E&P Professionals Coordinating Committee (YEPP CC) held its inaugural meeting at the 2005 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in Dallas. The YEPP CC will bring together and consolidate the current international programs initiated by SPE young professionals over the last several years. It acts under the umbrella of SPE Board Committee on Membership with Giovanni Paccaloni on the committee as Senior Mentor.
With the growth in size and number of YEPP and Emerging Leader Program initiatives across the globe, the committee will try to capture best practices of the existing programs to help new sections. The international coordination will facilitate the initiation and development of new local young professionals programs.
The most visible of all the current international initiatives is The Way Ahead (TWA), which is published three times a year with global distribution of 11,000, primarily to SPE members under the age of 35 and some industry executives. TWA has been received very positively throughout the Society. I congratulate all those who supported this concept and appreciate all those who have contributed their time and energy to this initiative and have seen it grow to become the main publication for young professionals working in the petroleum industry. If you can, share your TWA with those in your office who do not receive a copy. It will show them that SPE is not about retrospection on one’s career but about building and developing a strong career.
The online YEPP Professionals Network (PN)—available through www.spe.org—along with the Women’s and Educators’ PN act as the connection hub of professionals with a mutual interest. The YEPP PN will host forums, additional information, and quizzes of interest to young professionals. It will also host the necessary information on how to start a new young professionals chapter or how to organize local workshops. The PN has the potential to become the main portal for active young professionals in our Society to obtain additional information and access to all SPE YEPP initiatives.
Two new programs are the SPE YEPP Awards and the Ambassador Lecturer Pilot Program. The Ambassador Lecturer Program will bring young professionals to the student chapters to tell them about what it is like to work as a young professional in our industry. Lecturers will discuss their current job responsibilities and answer students’ questions. The YEPP Awards program will provide young professionals with extra motivation to keep striving for excellence early in their careers. It will recognize outstanding professionals among his or her peers. Both these programs are introduced in this TWA issue.
2006 SPE President Eve Sprunt mentioned in her inaugural speech at the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in Dallas to “stand tall and speak up.” Many other professional organizations have young professionals’ initiatives, and SPE’s has just started. Focusing on the development of our industry’s young professionals is key to the industry’s future success and stature. I am proud to be part of this motivated team working in diverse areas across the globe on some exciting and inspiring developments that will make our industry more attractive to new graduates and more enjoyable to work within. If you would like to know more about the SPE YEPP CC or have a suggestion, please contact me or Susan Sexton at SPE at yepp@spe.org.