In the war for talent, Houston goes up against Silicon Valley

It’s hard to draw parallels between Detroit, that shrunken symbol of American glory gone by, and Houston, a dynamic, fastgrowing metropolis. But Shell Oil Co.’s Niel Golightly says they have something in common.

Before Golightly worked at Shell, where he’s in charge of turning the ship towards lower-carbon energy, he worked on sustainable business strategies at Ford. That gives him vantage point on the similarities between the oil and car industries.

The important similarity, he says, is they’re both in a war with Silicon Valley for relevance — and therefore the best workers. Take autonomous and electric vehicles, in which Google and Tesla are racing Ford and General Motors.

“There’s a competition right now between Detroit and Silicon Valley for where is going to be the center of mobility in the future,” Golightly said during a panel discussion hosted by the nonprofit Center for Houston’s Future. “And it’s a dog-eat-dog battle for talent, for those millennials. The competition for young talent that wants to be part of an innovative future, in the automotive industry is a heated one.”

The same dynamic is playing out in energy. Houston is still mostly focused on oil and gas. But as a recent survey found, the public doesn’t have a very positive view of oil and gas. It considers renewable energy to be better for the world.

“Only if we start to talk about energy as a solution, as a new innovative canvas to be painted on, is it going to be attractive to millennials,” Golightly says. “If we have a conversation that’s about validating and extending the status quo, it’s not going to be attractive.”

Golightly’s remarks followed comments by Kimberly McHugh, a general manager of drilling and completions at Chevron. She spoke of maintaining the oil industry’s recruiting edge by stressing just how technologically advanced it is, how people in developing nations are desperate for energy, and how humans will always need carbon-based energy in some form.

“We are a noble industry,” she said. “We provide something the world needs. I don’t see a picture today that doesn’t have some component of fossil fuels.”

Will that argument work? The coveted millennial responds to high salaries, sure. But when California tech firms can also offer a sense of higher purpose, it’s hard for Houston’s oil industry to compete.