Our diverse workforce

ExxonMobil is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining the best people from the broadest possible employee pool to meet our business needs worldwide. At year end 2008, ExxonMobil’s workforce numbered nearly 80,000 employees, of which about 37 percent were located within the United States and 63 percent internationally.

In 2008, about 33 percent of our executives were non-U.S. employees. We hired more than 3600 management and professional employees worldwide, of which approximately 39 percent were women and 69 percent were hired outside the United States.

Workforce nationalization
We believe we have a responsibility to build a legacy of economic progress by maximizing the number of local employment opportunities, and by investing in the workforce of our host countries, in particular in emerging and developing economies. Our strategy is to increase the number of national employees over the life span of a project and to train them in technical and professional skills necessary for working on existing and future projects and operations. Over the long term, this helps us develop a pool of talented employees to meet future business needs around the world, beyond supporting local operations.

For example, when ExxonMobil began production in Nigeria, meeting local hiring requirements posed a significant challenge due to the skill level and lack of training opportunities in the country. To date, ExxonMobil affiliates in Nigeria have hired nearly 500 process, mechanical, instrumentation, and electrical graduates from our Technical Training Center in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Of the graduates employed, half are from the local community and the other half are from other Nigerian states. With a 95-percent graduation rate, the Center’s apprentice program provides students with the training needed to be internationally competitive. In 2008, some of those who graduated from the Center supported our newest project, East Area Natural Gas Liquids II.

We apply our global experience to local challenges through best practices, operational excellence, and leading technology. Over the short term, we employ expatriates to share their experience and expertise as well as train and prepare the national workforce for both operational and leadership roles. In 2008, expatriates comprised nearly 4 percent of our total workforce. This helps us integrate into the communities in which we operate and enables the long-term success of our projects.

Training and development
We strive to provide our employees with the best career opportunities in our industry and encourage individual growth and achievement. In 2008, corporate and professional technical training expenditures in our major business units totaled more than $69 million and reached over 48,000 participants. To strengthen our technical capacity, approximately 24,000 participants attended more than 1200 professional technical training sessions.

Through a combination of work assignments and training, our employees develop the necessary leadership capabilities for performing effectively in a variety of workplaces. In 2008, more than 3300 employees at various levels of management from around the world participated in ExxonMobil’s leadership development training programs. Approximately 25 percent of participants were women and 68 percent were non-U.S. employees.

Our commitment to training extends beyond ExxonMobil employees. In some cases, personnel from national oil companies work in our offices and participate in technology workshops and training programs. For example, in 2008, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding to share our training curriculum with INSTEP, the education arm of Malaysia’s national oil company. In Abu Dhabi, local nationals received formal training as well as on-the-job training, working in the ExxonMobil Technology Center, which opened in 2007.

In 2009, corporate and professional technical training in our major business units is planned for approximately 50,000 participants.