Fresh grads willing to go global, work beyond an office needed in energy sector: Seatrium CEO

SINGAPORE – Fresh graduates in Singapore may be struggling to find jobs in a cautious economy, but demand is growing for them to help drive the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy while ensuring current power needs are met.

Singapore-listed Seatrium is actively seeking young talent as the industry grows more global and technologically demanding.

But instead of specific skills or qualifications, the offshore engineering firm is looking for young people open to working across borders and ready to take on unconventional projects outside the office, from hauling modules for wind farms from Batam to Singapore for assembly, to transporting platforms to the North Sea to power homes in Europe.

That was the point Seatrium chief executive Chris Ong was keen to make when he spoke to The Straits Times recently.

During the exclusive interview, Mr Ong stressed that fresh graduates are needed to drive the energy transition, now a growing need not just in Singapore but globally. “It’s not a Singaporean company that you will see across the table. You’ll be sitting across major (energy) multinationals like Exxon, Shell, Petrobras and TenneT,” he said.

“We’re training global citizens who have a passion to execute projects around the world.”

He added: “It is a very exciting time to be in this industry with the energy transition. You are not just dealing with oil and gas, you will be involved in pushing the boundaries of energy transition.”

He also noted that the maritime industry in Singapore is very buoyant and future generations have the opportunity to make a real difference.

Building up a pipeline of talent

With an

$18.6 billion order book

comprising 25 projects globally and deliveries scheduled until 2031, fresh grads who join Seatrium will not only be expected to work in its Singapore yard, but also contribute to projects involving multinational giants and international operations.

“People think they’re joining the yard for construction work. I think that’s a very big misconception,” Mr Ong said.

“For the technology that we are putting into the products and the technology foresight that we need to have in order to be at the forefront of the supply chain, so that Singapore appeals to the energy majors of the world, we must have very capable and savvy people,” he said.

Attracting these people will involve providing the right training and ensuring there are global career advancement opportunities for them, Mr Ong said.

To build up a pipeline of young talent, Seatrium makes 100 internships available a year to local undergraduates at universities, polytechnics and institutes of technical education, with top performers potentially landing job offers before they graduate.

The company also offers 300 management trainee positions a year to fresh graduates to prepare them for international project management roles.

Graduates can be from a variety of trades too, from structural engineering to material science engineering. They will be rotated through functions, such as project management, construction and procurement capabilities, as well as globally across the organisation.

“It is a colourful way to build a career,” Mr Ong said.

“Sometimes, it’s not just about working in an office in the Central Business District versus working in Tuas. It’s about where your career can take you.”

Seatrium now has 24,000 employees across the world, excluding sub-contracted staff. In Singapore, it employs some 12,000 people at its headquarters in Tuas South Boulevard and facilities across Tuas and other areas like Admiralty.

Expanding to meet growing demand

Seatrium is expanding its capabilities and solutions as more countries seek energy security through oil and gas as well as in renewables like offshore wind, Mr Ong said.

He added that energy demand will only increase with the growing use of data centres and mobile networks, among other factors. “Oil and gas will always be a very volatile game, but the need and demand for energy is constant.”

While Seatrium continues to operate in the oil and gas sector, it is now doing so by incorporating more responsible and sustainable practices. These include building floating production storage and offloading vessels with energy-efficient systems and lower-emission features.

The company is also supporting the global energy transition and capturing opportunities in emerging fields, such as offshore wind.

Opportunities in the offshore wind industry will continue to grow, Mr Ong said. He expects that by 2050, the global energy mix will be about 50 per cent in traditional fossil fuels, with the rest in renewable energy.

While Seatrium already has a presence in areas like America, Britain, Norway, Brazil, China, Japan, Indonesia, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines, where it expands to next depends on where the energy transition is taking place, he added.

“We are able to be at the front of the queue because of our track record and our brand name.”

Under its “One Seatrium” global delivery model, the group benefits from being able to operate globally without relying on a single yard, for instance, fabricating parts in the Philippines or Batam, integrating them in Singapore, and then delivering the finished product to customers worldwide.

For the six months ended June 30, Seatrium recorded a 300 per cent year-on-year jump in profits to $144 million, on the back of a 34 per cent rise in revenue.

Mr Ong continues to see brighter days ahead, with the company’s targets set for 2028.

These include growing its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation to more than $1 billion and achieving a return on equity of 8 per cent.

On Aug 27, Seatrium announced its latest contract from offshore company Golar Hilli Corporation to upgrade a floating liquefied natural gas vessel that will be redeployed in the waters off Argentina.

“We have the order book. It’s about the efficiency and productivity in converting that into margins.”

Key to those goals is being able to convince a new generation of fresh graduates to join the company and help it fulfil its global ambitions.