ARPEL, Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean, brought together more than 120 specialists in the first symposium on human capital management specialized in oil and gas. Among various relevant topics, both the strategic vision of this area and the management of different aspects of knowledge and talent within the industry were addressed. Discussions also focused on the significant role of communication with various audiences, including trade unions.

Concerning knowledge management, presentations included both examples of management - in communities of practice - and experiences of corporate Universities - Petrobras, Repsol, Ecopetrol and the initial experience of Petroperú. In this regard, María Jesús Blasco, Director of the Center for Advanced Training of Repsol (Spain) stressed that "corporate universities have long-term vision. This is not a catalog of courses but the strategy of the company in various aspects of human capital. In corporate universities people also have the real possibility of working; this always allows improving the practical skills required to perform tasks".

During the second day, a plenary session addressed the importance of the dialogue with trade unions. This session was attended by the representative of ANCAP Federation and representatives of trade unions of other companies.

"Working the dialogue with a strong and representative trade union enables constructive actions," according to Hubert Arbildi, Manager of Shared Services of ANCAP (Uruguay).

Finally, the discussion also included the role of leadership and its characteristics for the future: Jaime Roa Marchant, Head of the Department of Organizational Development of Enap Refinerías SA (Chile) said: "The leaders we need must be humane, make mistakes and dialogue. Technical knowledge is not enough."

The Symposium, attended by participants from 36 companies of 13 countries, was sponsored jointly by Repsol and Petroperú.

Its second edition is planned for 2016 to discuss the problems found, among which are the management of complex projects and the management of new generations.

Highlights:

· The Human Talent and Knowledge Management Committee of ARPEL promotes this event that brings together managers, professionals and staff linked to the area of human talent and knowledge management of companies and concentrates over 90% of the upstream and downstream activities in Latin America.

· Next edition: 2016.

· Number of participants: 120

· Participating companies: 36

· Participating countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Mexico, Spain, Peru, Jamaica, Colombia, Ecuador, Suriname, Paraguay