Dive Brief:
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Oil field workers who lose their jobs in south Texas as the industry continues to lose steam won’t be out of work for long. Construction companies are lining up to hire them as soon as they get their pink slips.
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Doug McMurry, executive vice president of the Associated General Contractors of San Antonio, told radio station 1200 WOAI that laid-off oil field workers are highly qualified to work as skilled craftsmen in the construction industry and could earn $50,000 per year. "We would simply like to extend job offers to those who have been newly laid off," he said.
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The association is recruiting laid-off oil workers through job fairs and a new website.
Dive Insight:
Contractors all over the country added positions last year—and then struggled to try to fill them. Many turned down contracts because of the industry’s acute labor shortage. In Texas, Oklahoma, and other oil-producing states, the competition for skilled labor has been even more intense and reportedly led some oil companies in the past to poach crew members from construction sites with on-the-spot bonuses and the promise of hefty salaries.