crude oil imports, refining capacity, the logistical infrastructure, and environmental considerations in terms of cleaner fuel. Factors that have a more direct influence on skills relate to the global integration of the industry, offshore operations, transformation in the subsector, technological development, and research and development. THE DEMAND FOR SKILLS IN THE SUBSECTOR This section looks at the demand for skills in the Petroleum Subsector. It shows the trends in employment as well as the occupational composition of demand in the subsector. The Chemical Sector in South Africa employed approximately 148 000 workers in 1970. This figure increased steadily over the subsequent two decades and reached an all-time high of almost 260 000 in 1993. Employment in the sector then declined quite rapidly over the next decade to 156 000 in 2002. Over the period 2003 to 2008 employment in the sector increased again but it dropped again from 2009 onwards. The recent reductions in employment has mainly impacted on low-skilled and semi-skilled workers, resulting in the skills mix tending towards the higher level skills. (See Figure Employment in the Petroleum Subsector did not follow the same trajectory as total employment in the Chemical Sector. Employment grew steadily from 1970 to the mid-eighties. It then dropped steadily until 2002 but increased again over the last decade. Table 4-1 shows that for the period 2000 to 2010 the average percentage growth in employment in the Petroleum Subsector was higher than in the Chemical Sector as a whole. The projected growth until 2020 shows the same trend. Figure 41 Employment in the Petroleum Subsector compared to total employment in the Chemical Sector from 1970 to 2012 Source: Quantec , June 2013.
crude oil imports, refining capacity, the logistical infrastructure, and environmental considerations in terms of cleaner fuel. Factors that have a more direct influence on skills relate to the global integration of the industry, offshore operations, transformation in the subsector, technological development, and research and development. THE DEMAND FOR SKILLS IN THE SUBSECTOR This section looks at the demand for skills in the Petroleum Subsector. It shows the trends in employment as well as the occupational composition of demand in the subsector. The Chemical Sector in South Africa employed approximately 148 000 workers in 1970. This figure increased steadily over the subsequent two decades and reached an all-time high of almost 260 000 in 1993. Employment in the sector then declined quite rapidly over the next decade to 156 000 in 2002. Over the period 2003 to 2008 employment in the sector increased again but it dropped again from 2009 onwards. The recent reductions in employment has mainly impacted on low-skilled and semi-skilled workers, resulting in the skills mix tending towards the higher level skills. (See Figure Employment in the Petroleum Subsector did not follow the same trajectory as total employment in the Chemical Sector. Employment grew steadily from 1970 to the mid-eighties. It then dropped steadily until 2002 but increased again over the last decade. Table 4-1 shows that for the period 2000 to 2010 the average percentage growth in employment in the Petroleum Subsector was higher than in the Chemical Sector as a whole. The projected growth until 2020 shows the same trend. Figure 41 Employment in the Petroleum Subsector compared to total employment in the Chemical Sector from 1970 to 2012 Source: Quantec , June 2013.