Local economic growth and development

Local content development

Our approach focuses on three key areas: employing and training a local workforce, supporting local suppliers and improving livelihoods of community members through local community investments. In addition to workforce and supplier development, we also invest in local community development. For more on that topic, please see our local community investment webpage.

Local content development is integrated into overall project planning and execution. We develop a plan specific to each country or area, taking into account social and economic conditions, the nature of the project and the community’s needs. Part of this effort includes working to align our goals with those of our partners and host country governments. We also actively participate in external organizations and initiatives that improve local content around the world. These organizations include IPIECA and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Performance and initiatives

Local hiring and training

We provide locally hired individuals with opportunities to develop technical and leadership skills that will benefit them throughout their careers with ExxonMobil, and with any future employers. Our training programs include information on ethical business conduct, health and safety, environmental protection, management skills and fundamentals of the oil and gas industry, as well as relevant technical and vocational skills.

We support education and training initiatives aimed at increasing the pool of individuals from which we can recruit. To help develop the skills of local individuals, we place experienced ExxonMobil expatriates in countries where they can share their expertise and mentor local workers for operational and leadership roles. Some local workers are selected for developmental assignments at ExxonMobil facilities around the world as a way to broaden their experience with the goal that when they return home, they will use and share this knowledge in their home countries’ operations.

ExxonMobil operates business and technical support centers that offer services to our global operations. We have local employees working in centers around the world, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malaysia, India and Thailand. These centers support our operations with a broad range of services, including financial, information technology and customer services, and provide jobs and business opportunities for the communities in which they are located.

Performance and initiatives

With about 60 percent of our employees located outside the United States, local hiring ensures that our workforce remains culturally diverse and representative of the countries where we operate. As illustrated below, we continued to make progress in local hiring and training in 2017. While we strive to hire as many local workers near our operations as possible, sometimes there is a shortage of appropriately qualified individuals. As economic activity in a particular area increases, the demand for local skilled workers also increases, which can result in a shortage of available workers. 

We often work through primary contractors to train local workers. In 2015, ExxonMobil made an oil and gas discovery in the Stabroek block, located approximately 120 miles offshore Guyana. In 2017, our primary contractors hired workers in support of our subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines activities, which help bring the oil and gas to the surface. Additional trainees are currently engaged in developmental activities. 

Local supplier development

Our presence has a multiplier effect for direct suppliers, and has the potential to further enrich communities through higher paying jobs and increased revenue for local governments.

One of the cornerstones of supplier development is creating economic opportunities for local businesses and investing in training local contractors and suppliers. ExxonMobil works with a range of stakeholders, including host country governments, nongovernmental organizations and local communities to support the development of local vendors through a variety of programs focusing on the oil and gas industry, procurement processes and general business topics.

ExxonMobil works with entrepreneurs and local businesses to clarify ExxonMobil safety and environmental requirements. A better understanding of requirements can help local businesses become competitive vendors capable of contributing to ExxonMobil projects. When suppliers are unsuccessful in competing for work with us, we provide them with advice and guidance on how to become better positioned for future opportunities with ExxonMobil or other companies.

Performance and initiatives

ExxonMobil Papua New Guinea operates an Enterprise Centre that provides business training, mentoring and advisory services to local businesses, while compiling a local supplier database. Since the start of the liquefied natural gas plant construction in 2010, ExxonMobil Papua New Guinea and the Enterprise Centre have helped to assess and build the capacity of more than 450 Papua New Guinean businesses and nearly 19,000 local entrepreneurs. The Enterprise Centre has also conducted more than 1,200 advisory and mentoring days.