Joe Laymon
Chevron Vice President for Human Resources, Medical and Security
What human resource challenges does Chevron face?
One of our challenges is getting people with the right skills in the right place at the right time.
The people who design and run the engineering marvels that bring us energy have one thing in common—they're strong in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills. So it's a business imperative that we're dedicated to creating a pipeline for hiring and nurturing people with such talent.
Over the past five years, we've hired an average of 5,000 people a year, most of whom have been hired outside the United States. Once they're on board, we continue developing their experience and technical skills.
But our need for human capital requires us to look beyond our company and to our communities.
Wherever we operate, we actively focus on the kind of education—the STEM subjects—that most directly leads to the highly skilled workers who help our business grow and prosper.
What will help meet this challenge?
Recent studies highlight that the success of STEM education will determine whether a country will have the needed technical capacity to meet challenges in areas such as energy, health, environmental protection and national security.
A healthy STEM education pipeline spanning preschool through higher education is critical to producing a workforce that can compete in the global marketplace. It will train the future scientists, engineers, mathematicians and innovators needed to develop ideas and products, and help improve economic standing.
These STEM workers will continue to be a vital part of all countries' economies.
How is Chevron addressing this challenge?
We believe three things are critical to advance STEM education.
First, we must work together through collaborative partnerships, such as our partnership with Project Lead The Way, which encourages the development of problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and creative reasoning through a rigorous STEM curriculum in middle and high schools.
Second, we believe in the power of human capital. In our partnership with Techbridge, a U.S. nonprofit that encourages young women to study science and engineering, Chevron employees serve as role models. We also help provide after-school and summer science curriculum.
Third, we believe in coordinated, integrated approaches. Chevron works across sectors—with nonprofits, governmental organizations, universities and regional forums—to increase STEM education opportunities for young people. We recognize that students, parents, businesses and government all have roles to play.
Updated: May 2012