New Delhi: Instrumentation Automation Surveillance & Communication (IASC) Sector Skill Council has successfully organized the National Workshop & Exhibition on “Skill Challenges & Opportunities in Implementation of Instrumentation, Automation & Surveillance in Oil & Gas and Fertilizer sector”. It was held on 15 September 2017 at Vigyan Bhavan.
The timing of the event could not have been better as hydrocarbon industry in India is going through a virtual paradigm shift driven, to a great extent, by a world-wide focus on reducing the carbon footprint. This scenario throws challenges to both the Fertilizer and the Oil & Gas Industry to address the environmental issues while achieving substantial enhancements in production.
Extensive application of modern instrumentation technologies is necessary to meet these objectives leveraging the rapidly emerging technologies that are ushering in the ‘Fourth Industrial revolution – Industry 4.0’ incorporating the Internet of Things (IoT), Data Analytics, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Robotics. Existing workforce will need to align its skill sets to keep pace, adapt and to thrive on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The desirable skills include complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordination, decision making and cognitive flexibility.
It is felt that the workforce engaged at various layers of Oil, Gas & Fertilizers Sector need enhancement of knowledge and training in many of these essential technologies and attributes. Identification of key job roles is also an emerging need, along with skill gap analysis and plan for ensuring the availability of such skills – through re-skilling, up-skilling and appropriate training programs.
The IASC Sector Skill Council is mandated to focus on the skill development for Instrumentation, Automation, Surveillance and Broadcast Communication segments which are directly linked to relevant technologies.
The workshop has been jointly organized by IASC-SSC & the Industries and they have brought together the key stakeholders involved to deliberate on the issues relating to identification of emerging job roles and the skilling needs of the sector.
The workshop has extensively explored, discussed and deliberated on a range of relevant topics presented through position papers, case studies, statistics, technical papers relating to appropriate technologies, processes, systems and software, skilling and training programs etc.
An exhibition has also been organized on the occasion.
The workshop has been well attended by a broad-based audience composed of all stakeholders, including Government agencies, PSUs dealing with Oil, Gas & Fertilizers, End User Industries, OEMs, System Integrators and Contractors, MSMEs, Academicians, Researchers, Educators and Training Solution Providers. Companies, such as ONGC, BHEL, Honeywell, Reliance, HP, Emerson Schnieder, BOSCH, NTPC, EIL has participated in this workshop. Their input has been very valuable for us.
In the end, the event has been successful in identifying the opportunities and challenges in the implementation of modern technologies along with the type of job roles likely to be needed at various levels, as well as job roles that require reorientation. Alongside, the workshop has ascertained the training needs, re-skilling and up-skilling requirements for the workforce and the resources needed to realize it.
