Mexico’s Human Capital Development Strategy

The Ministry of Energy, alongside other agencies such as the Ministry of Education, universities, academic bodies, and industrial players, is developing the much needed human capital, said Carlos Ortiz. He mentioned a heightened interest from all companies in the market to develop a strong strategy for human capital. The Strategic Program for Human Capital Development in Energy will be implemented across the whole of Mexico and it is tailored to those generations that need the support. There are six main points that form part of the strategy: background, prospective talent in the energy sector, analysis of volume in the value chains of the hydrocarbons sector, tools for the planning of the labor force, and a national system of identification of human capital specialized in the Mexican energy sector (FISH). The Ministry of Energy collated all the data and information from all agencies and companies in order to have in-depth knowledge of the human capital pool and address the challenges. “This program seeks to integrate all governmental agencies and identify main challenges in the human capital development and direct our efforts in the right direction. The program obviously has a normative framework and a general diagnostics,” Ortiz stressed.

“A successful sector needs trained human capital and one of the biggest ambitions is for the Mexican workforce to bring added value and drive innovation. The extraction of the hydrocarbon and the generation of power should fall second to the creation of innovation and added value services that drive the global energy industry,” Ortiz expressed. He mentioned there are strategic conditions that the program deals with, such as information for decision making, trained personnel, personnel that generates knowledge, and lastly, an energy sector that attracts talent. “During the analysis, we wanted to know which processes in the sector we operate in and which areas we should be dominating after the opening of the market. This means we need to have well-defined competencies and critical profiles in order to attend the challenges.”

Ortiz highlighted that the document is open to feedback and the Ministry of Energy has received support from the private sector. “The degree of openness is crucial in making sure that the development of human capital is aligned with the realities of the industry and those of the decision makers. With these initiatives we hope that companies, academic institutions, and governmental entities will use this information and tools in order to make strategic decisions based on the monitoring of human capital needs in the hydrocarbons industry.” Ortiz identified the program as the baseline of knowledge regarding the capacities of Mexico’s human capital in the energy sector. Companies can learn in a qualitative manner the actual offers, careers, study programs, and flow of graduate or undergraduate students. Ortiz concluded his presentation telling the audience the Ministry of Energy is calling for submissions in FISH, which unites universities and companies, which collaborate to create educational programs and support projects