Reskilling to navigate the new energy future
Firm on working in the energy sector to contribute to a net-zero future, geologist Hakim started his professional journey working on upstream energy exploration projects. Upon realising that the shift to a new energy future will be led by digital technology, he started from scratch and reskilled himself to play a larger role in shaping the future of energy. He shares his story of professional transformation at Shell and finding opportunities to contribute to the energy transition.
Hakim, a geology graduate, pursued his passion for working in the energy sector to play a part in sustainability and transition. In 2019, he started working as a Mudlogging Analyst on upstream resource exploration projects evaluating data to detect hydrocarbon only to have his professional journey disrupted entirely by the pandemic in 2020.
Under pressure to find employment, unsure of the future of upstream but certain of wanting to pursue the energy sector, Hakim took a step back to analyse his core skills and how they could be employed in a future-proof role like digital technology.
“I didn't have as much technical skills as people who studied it. But I had the people management skills required for technology consulting,” he says. In 2021, he secured a technology-led role with a global IT services company where he worked to acquire technical capabilities before applying to Shell to return to the energy sector.
Growing up in Malaysia, with its massive presence in the energy sector, Shell was not an unknown entity to Hakim. But it was while working on the rigs that Shell first left a mark on him. “I never had the opportunity to work on a Shell site, but the entrance of their rigs had the lines ‘working safe is better than working fast’ highlighted. A place that cares about the safety of its people was refreshing,” he recalls.
In early 2022, his impression of Shell being the right company for him to grow was reinforced during one of his interviews. To get a sense of the company culture, Hakim asked the interviewer, ‘What happens when a team member makes a major mistake? Do you hold them responsible?’ The question had roots in the unpleasant experience he had working in the fast-paced consulting firm which lacked a sense of community and an environment to grow and experiment, he says. The response from the interviewer, which he says has stuck with him, was, ‘At Shell, we take care of our people, and our people take care of our business.’ And the year and a half he has spent at Shell, he says, has mirrored that statement on every occasion.
Currently, Hakim works as a Process Automation Analyst for trading and supply where his primary goal is to work with stakeholders in Shell businesses across the world to understand processes and find ways to automate them using technology. “We identify repetitive and time-consuming but essential daily tasks, design ways for scripts or robots to complete them and then manage the implementation of the project,” he explains.
So far, Hakim has learnt at least three major technology tools to deliver in his role. And while the very nature of his job involves solving a different problem each time, which brings with it certain learnings, he attributes a lot of his growth to the culture at Shell. “Aside from the opportunities to learn while collaborating with experienced stakeholders on global projects and offering structured programmes to upskill, Shell has created an environment where one feels empowered to ask questions and learn,” he says. “You can just ping anyone, regardless of the department or seniority, with a query or a request and expect a response from them.”
What also stands out for Hakim is the culture that focuses on the well-being of people. “Since I work on a project basis, I have certain phases where my work hits a peak but even in those phases, nobody contacts me during weekends,” he says. “After the completion of every project, I am given a period to de-stress and assimilate my learnings before I take on something new.” And every small or big successful project, he says, is followed by an organisation-wide mail or a team celebration recognising the achievements. “These gestures motivate you to experiment, upskill, branch out and perform even better,” he adds.
His current role, Hakim says, is a good starting point for him to gain domain knowledge and understand how global energy distribution works. But what the role also gives him is the opportunity to pursue his passion of contributing to energy transition. “The work that I do enables the sector specialists to take their focus away from the mundane and the repetitive tasks and have the time to use their expertise in helping Shell create and execute energy transition strategies,” he says.
The experiences thus far, also have Hakim convinced that Shell has the strongest and most holistic strategy for energy transition. For example, “Internally, there are several initiatives like offering employees subsidies to go solar. On the retail end, an increasing number of Shell stations are becoming net-zero spaces. On the energy production front, Shell is rapidly expanding its new energy portfolio and investing in low-carbon fuels that are efficient and can deliver energy reliably.”
Going forward, he says, his aim is to maximise the learning opportunities available to him so he can join the new energy projects and help bring them to fruition.