our people

Employee Attraction and Retention

Syncrude's workforce increased by 205 positions in 2007, to a total of 4,733 people. At 761, the number of new permanent employees hired continued a long trend of year-over-year hiring increases. About two-thirds of the new hires were recruited into trades and operating positions. Total employee attrition was about 12 percent in 2007, consistent with other regional oil sands developers.

Syncrude will continue to refine its attraction and retention strategies in support of our overall workforce needs. This effort includes an annual review of our compensation and benefits packages to ensure that we are competitively positioned.

Workforce by the Numbers
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
Total Permanent Workforce 4,733 4,527 4,327 4,180 4,026
New Permanent Employees – all categories 761 744 557 383 236
Trades and Operators 529 492 384 251 148
Administrative, Professional & Technical 232 252 173 132 88
New Employees – diversity
Aboriginal 35 54 50 27 23
Female 172 172 129 87 45
Recruiting Effectiveness
New Hire acceptance rate:
% of job offers accepted 77 78 78 86 90
Local hires (% of all new hires) 70 64 70 66 61
Job Applications Received (#) 49,564 44,815 30,032 18,116 19,777

Many people are affected by oil sands development. How does Syncrude ensure these effects are positive?

By being a responsible employer and an engaged community member, Syncrude works towards positive socio-economic impacts for those within our sphere of influence.


4,733
total permanent workforce
in 2007

761
new hires in 2007