Graduates keen for resources jobs

Woodside Petroleum has more than doubled its intake of graduates, from 50 hired in 2013 to 115 expected to start next year.

Chief executive Peter Coleman said 75 graduates had started this year, and the company had already received about 3,600 applications that met the basic grade for the 2015 intake.

Typically, two-thirds of graduates hired by Woodside have an engineering or geosciences degree, while one-third studied business, accounting or human resources.

Business News highlighted the plight of engineering graduates two weeks ago when it reported on University of Western Australia graduates taking to St Georges Terrace with placards to seek work.

Inpex, which guarantees permanent employment upon successful completion of its graduate program, currently has 15 graduates employed across 11 departments.

It has openings for seven graduates in 2015 and has already received more than 800 applications.

Last year, BHP Billiton hired 102 graduates within WA, following with 99 this year.

BHP takes engineering, health science, science and business graduates across its Worsley Alumina, iron ore and petroleum divisions.

Chevron currently employs around 160 graduates in WA including facilities engineers and petroleum engineers.

Last year it partnered with Engineers Australia to improve its professional development program for new graduates.

Shell Australia hired 21 commercial and technical graduates, including engineers, in its upstream business in 2013. This year it hired 26 graduates and plans to hire the same amount in 2015.

Its graduate recruitment strategy has been heavily focused on increasing the number of female technical graduates, which now make up 50 per cent of its total upstream intake.