The Opportunity to Grow and Excel

By Mel Sim

If you ever have the chance to work at Schlumberger, you can be sure that you’ll receive every opportunity to develop your skills for a bright future.

Schlumberger is the world’s leading provider of technology for reservoir characterisation, drilling, production and processing for the oil and gas industry operating in 85 countries, including Malaysia. Here, the Kuala Lumpur Procurement Service Centre (PSC) is part of the company’s Shared Service Organisation, utilising hub and spoke model.

What does this entail? According to Mike George, Category Leader for Rental & Repair, “We are partners to our oilfield operations by providing support of end to end Procure to Pay transactions to ensure no disruption of supply, compliant supplier selection and paying fair market price for product and services. Our efficiency, reliability and effectiveness in supporting our oilfield operations will ensure that they will have better focus in doing what they do best to provide the best quality service to Schlumberger clients.”

Schlumberger’s PSC currently has about 100 people made up of Procurement Specialists, Spot Buyers, Expeditors, Team Leads, Category Leaders and Business Process Improvement Leaders. Malaysia is a hot spot for shared services like Schlumberger’s mainly because of its unique qualities. Says Ben Yee, also a Category Leader for Indirect & Infrastructure, “Malaysia is one of the strongest contenders in the region due to its unique value proposition in terms of the multilingual multicultural workforce, significant existing shared services presence and experienced talent pool, proven expertise and supportive government incentives.”

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE RIGHT SKILLS
What does this mean for fresh grads? Huge potential to be part of the world’s largest oilfield services company! But only if you fit the criteria, which according to Yee are “solid supply chain, logistic, international trade background and strong interpersonal skills that align with the Schlumberger core values of teamwork, commitment, integrity and drive.”

To find its people, the company is active in its recruitment drive. “Schlumberger believes that talent, knowledge and expertise exist in every country around the world and we seek to bring the most talented people into Schlumberger, everywhere we work,” says Yee. The company has in place a university relations programme that places special emphasis on targeted universities. “This is to ensure we attract the top students in various fields of study,” further explains Yee.

With technology making a huge impact these days on industries, having the additional knowledge will also come in handy when it comes to employment at Schlumberger, says George. “Having given the opportunity to manage a team of nine people dealing with huge data on a daily basis, I realised one of the most critical technical skills to have is big data analysis. Nearly every industry today relies on data. While it is easy for anyone to get data, we need employees who can collect, organise and then interpret the data, which can influence timely decision making,” he explains.

Yee also shares that passion and interest in the industry will help a potential hire go far. “It would also be encouraging if the talent can distinguish Schlumberger amongst other oil and gas service company out there. In addition, they need to understand the role and be truthful in what they can do as well as be willing to learn quickly on what they can’t do,” he adds.

Schlumberger believes that talent, knowledge and expertise exist in every country around the world and we seek to bring the most talented people into Schlumberger, everywhere we work.

A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Don’t worry if you don’t come fully equipped with all the skills though; Schlumberger places a huge emphasis on development of its workforce. George shares his own experience on how this has greatly benefitted his career. “Back in 2015, Schlumberger introduced a fixed step training programme for all supply chain executives called SUMMIT. The structured training programme was designed to product Schlumberger’s very own supply chain professional. It had been beneficial to me as it provided the platform to improve my knowledge in supply chain, soft skills and career path, which has led me to my current role,” he says.

On top of that, being a multinational company means diversity. “Schlumberger provides an environment where everyone plays a key part in a friendly, highly diverse team. Our people collaborate, often in technical forums and communities, to share ideas and insights, finding the best solutions to continually address new challenges,” says Yee. “Most importantly, Schlumberger offers equal opportunities to everyone. It is one of the very few organisations that can offer such a wide variety of international roles in more than 85 countries around the world, and new and varied professional challenges in a variety of locations are available throughout one’s career path,” he adds.

Share this article: