Colleges and universities across the United States are turning their attention to training their students in skills related to the burgeoning oil and gas industry.

As an example, while the University of Santa Cruz offers graduate and undergraduate petroleum engineering courses and the University of California likewise has a graduate petrochemical engineering programme, energy companies across the state are now targeting younger students as they look to meet rising demand for trained professionals and address the current skills gap.

Commenting on the advantages offered to the industry by initiatives such as Taft College's new two-year occupational programme, Holmes Western Oil Corp. president Fred Holmes, explained: "It just saves us from training. The college would probably do a better job at it."

Specifically, such initiatives are focusing on preparing young students for a technical job between an engineer and an entry-level on-site position, one of the areas suffering from the greatest shortage of workers across the whole of the US.

Despite the current shortage of skilled workers, over the past week, the number of rigs actively looking for oil and gas within the US grew by 29 to 1,957, a new report from Houston-based Baker Hughes has revealed.

Oil & Gas Directory: Training & Development