Training and Job Security in Oil and Gas Companies in Rivers State, Nigeria

The study examined the relationship between training and job security in oil and gas companies in Rivers State, Nigeria. The survey was based on four selected oil and gas companies with a sample size of 262 staff. The aim of the study is to examine the impact of training on job security in oil and gas companies. Questionnaires were administered to staff of the selected companies. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested. Statistical tool of Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the strength and direction of the relationship between the variables. Findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between training and job security. Thus it was concluded that training seeks to educate employees on the product, services and ethics of the organization and to clarify them on the set task. The training is designed to align with the needs of the employer (organization) and assist to achieve potential outcomes. Thus, it was recommended that training of employees in the oil and gas companies should be paramount considering the complexity of the job done there. Also oil and gas companies should enforce quality training programs, as this is capable to ensure that the right people with the right mind are retained to sufficiently contribute to the success of the organization.


INTRODUCTION
Employee activities have been mostly used to observe organizational performance and the organizations come in all shapes and sizes which frequently exhibit more differences than similarities. However, one predominant factor to all organizations is that success is greatly dependent on the skills, knowledge, and experience of their employee (Harrison, 2015). These skills and knowledge are gotten through training. In the current competitive environment, which is anchored by the knowledge economy, the attributes and competencies of the employee are vital elements in organization's competitiveness. Certainly, greatly trained and greatly skilled subordinates or employee can enhance productivity and the quality of goods and services (Blair & Sisakhti, 2007). This can lead to positive changes in processes and the delivering of quality service to clients, thereby enhancing the organization's competitiveness and performance. Thus, training produces tangible outcomes, such as enhancing productivity, superior products and services, and resource maximization as well as optimization (Hiltrop, 2019). Training also produces intangible results such as high self-esteem, high morale and the satisfaction of subordinates as a result of additional skills, knowledge and abilities (SKAs).
Organizations that systematically train and develop their employee, develop their market value more favourably thus, there will be higher productivity and growth.
It is therefore not surprising that in modern times, the emphasis on training and the acquisition of new skills are increasingly becoming the key for organizations to attain enduring outcomes such as retention and commitment, because failure of training could be catastrophic to the organization. One should note that dynamic environments and changing customer needs require unique solutions and modern employee skills to grant superior services and products. Training is very important in the oil and gas sector because of the complexity of jobs done there. When training is given to employees, it tends to give a sense of satisfaction, and job security, which is often reciprocated with commitment and loyalty to the organization.

Aim of the Study
The aim of the study was to examine the impact of training on job security in oil and gas companies in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Research Questions
i. What is the relationship between training and employability skills in oil and gas companies in Rivers State? ii. What is the relationship between training and work experience in the oil and gas companies in Rivers State? iii. What is the relationship between training and employment contract in oil and gas companies in Rivers State?

Research Hypotheses
Ho1: There is no significant relationship between training and employability skills. Ho2: There is no significant relationship between training and work experience. Ho3: There is no significant relationship between training and employment contract.

Training
Training is a function of human resource management concerned with organizational activities aimed at improving the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings. Training scheme increases the organization's specificity of employee skills, which in turn, increases employee productivity and reduces job displeasure that results in employee turnover (Huselid, 2011). Becker and Huselid (2006) argued that the economic yields of extensive training is more likely to be captured by the organization if employees are motivated to stay and contribute to the firm's achievement nurtured in part by selective recruitment, competitive pay packages and team oriented work environments. Empirical research shows that organizations with successful training and development scheme do experience lower turnover (Fey, et al., 2017).
Conversely, some studies have suggested that comprehensive training scheme can influence employee retention, productivity and organizational effectiveness positively (Oregon-Sanchez, et al., 2017). Training is used to enhance specific skills and correct performance issues to empower employee with the skills required for contemporary and imminent job requirement (Gomez-Mejia, et al., 2005;Gold, 2001;Wood & De Menezes, 2008). Noe, et al., (2015) defines training as a planned effort to facilitate the learning of job related skills, knowledge, and behaviour by employees of an organization.
However, the extent to which the management of oil and gas organizations are able to create and sustain a training scheme may depend significantly on their value on training and organizational goals and objectives. The researcher conceptualizes training as the act of imputing new skills and knowledge through an organized process into the employee for organizational benefit. Therefore, training can be in form of (a) mentoring (b) on the job training (c) off the job training. These are the types of trainings granted in oil and gas firms: i. Mentoring: The term mentoring as used in this study connotes the care and tutoring given to an inexperienced employee by an experienced employee in the organization. It is used in organisations to aid induction and help new employee acclimatise and integrate into the working environment. Mentoring grants support and self-development opportunity for individuals to help them reach their potential (Gold, 2001). Mentoring is important, not only because of the knowledge and skills employee can learn from mentors, but also because mentoring grants professional socialization and personal support to facilitate success in organization and beyond. Quality mentoring greatly enhances employees' chances for success (Smith & De Cronje, 2013).Workplace mentoring scheme in the oil and gas organizations help employee do the right thing by exposing them to senior employees that know how to do the right thing. This helps the employee perform more effectively and gives the employee more satisfaction. Higher job satisfaction leads to increased productivity and reduced turnover. ii. On-The-Job Training: The term on-the-job training as used in this study refers to the training an employee receives in the cause of doing his/her job in the organization. It is a form of training that takes place in a normal working situation, which is sometimes called direct instruction. It is a one-on-one training located at the job site where someone who knows how to do a task shows another how to perform it. This type of training is very much obtainable in the oil and gas sector due to its complex nature. According to Smith and De Cronje (2013) there have been several recent studies on managerial learning and skills development that result from on-the-job experience. This research suggests that employee learn most from assignments that are very difficult and challenging. iii. Off-The-Job Training: The term off-the-job training as used in this study connotes the type of training given to an employee outside the work environment for a particular period of time. This form of training takes place away from the immediate workplace. It includes more general skills and knowledge that is useful for work. In terms of this type of training, small groups of eight to fourteen individuals who are strangers to each other are usually grouped together and assisted by a trainer. During the discussion, employee discuss themselves, their feelings, and the group process (Warnich & Grobler, 2016).

The Concept of Job Security
The term job security as used in this study refers to the continuous retention of an employee in an organization. The concept of job security started gaining popularity in the recent times as a result of economic pressures on organizations. This could be the reason why Adebayo and Lucky (2012), agreed that job security has become indispensable in employee and organization's preference list, particularly due to economic reasons. Thus, it has become one of the most crucial and vital factors among the employee preference list as well as the organization (Schappel, 2012;Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, [KPMG] 2010). Globally, about 75% of the employee preferred to keep their jobs compared to other factors in their preference list (Towers Watson [TW], 2010). This indicates that job security is as vital as the employee' salary and healthcare (KPMG, 2010). Presently, the most vital desire of every employee is to keep their jobs for as long as they wish. In this view, it implies that job security has become the most determinant and key element influencing an employee's decision on whether to join an organization or not (TW, 2010). Job security creates a climate of confidence among employees which cultivates their commitment on the organization's workforce (Kalleberg & Rognes, 2000).
Job security requires a certain degree of reciprocity. Firstly, a company must signal a clear message that jobs are secure; then, employee believing that this is true, feel confident and commit themselves to expend extra effort for the company's benefits. For the job of an employee to be secured, skills, experience and the type of contract signed must come into play.

i. Employability Skills
The term employability skills as used in this study refers to the skills possessed by an employee that increases his/her chances of been employed and retained in an organization.
Employability can be defined as a set of achievements -skills, understandings and personal attributes that make employee more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy (Brown & Hesketh, 2004). According to International Labour Organization [ILO] (2013) defines employability skills as the skills, knowledge and competencies that enhance a worker's ability to secure and retain a job, progress at work and cope with change, secure another job if he/she so wishes or has been laid off and enter more easily into the labour market at diverse periods of the life cycle.
Organization hire persons for their skills and then put them in sections where such skills will be utilized effectively. Employability skill is a group of essential abilities that involve the development of a knowledge base, expertise level and mind-set that is increasingly necessary for success in the modern workplace (Roehling, et al., 2000). Employability skills are typically considered essential qualifications for many job positions and hence have become necessary for an individual's employment success at just about any level within a business environment (Juliane, 2020a).
It is not the same as getting a job, rather it implies to an employee's capacity to survive in a job and be able to move between jobs, thus remaining employable throughout life (business dictionary, 2013b). It is the possession European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1905(Paper) ISSN 2222-2839(Online) Vol.13, No.23, 2021 98 of skills and competence to survive in a work situation. Skills necessary for self-advocacy and networking to cope with the changing circumstances, be active in the maintenance of continuous learning and capable of working within changing teams (Deloitte, 2010).
Employability skill is an assessment of the economic worth of an employee at the time of employment. It can also be defined as the enhanced capacity to secure and maintain employment (Saravanan, 2009). Employability skills are core skills and traits needed in nearly every job. These are the general skills that make someone desirable to an organization.
They are soft skills that allow you to work well with others, apply knowledge to solve issues and fit into any work environment. They also include the professional skills that enable you to be successful in the workplace. These are also seen as transferable skills because you can apply them to a job in any industry (Hind & Moss, 2011).
ii. Work Experience The term work experience as used in this study is used to capture the experiences an employee brings to the organization that relates to the previous jobs done in similar organization.
Work experience is perhaps one of the most encountered concepts in personnel research and practice. Work experience is relevant for many employee functions such as selection (Ash & Levine, 2015), training (Ford, et al., 2012), and career development (Campion, et al., 2014;McCall, et al., 2008). Given the importance of work experience for employee practice and research, it is not surprising that a fair amount of research has examined the concept and its relationship with vital outcomes such as job security (Ash & Levine, 2015).
Work experience is generally defined as events which occur in an individual's life that are perceived by the individual. Employee work experience is defined as cognitive experiences of employee in the organization, measured in relation to organizational climate, internal policies and leadership (Ford, et al., 2012). However, life events are clearly not discrete. Life is a fluid stream of experience events with no predominant factor system for delineating when an event ends and the other begins.
Work experience refers to events which are experienced by an individual which relate to the performance of some job. However, a number of measures can be used to represent an individual's level of work experience (Hofmann, et al., 2012).
Work experience should not be regarded as something that is intrinsically beneficial; something that is somehow 'good for the soul'. On the contrary, it is a means to an end and it is vital to keep the end in sight. The end is the learning that comes from the experience. Work experience offers a significant route to developing a range of employee attributes and plays a vital role in augmenting the higher education learning experience. Work experience is a process that is part of the whole spectrum of learning (Campion, et al., 2014). Work experience can offer the opportunity to develop skills that enable employees to be work-ready, that is be at the adaptive end of the enhancement continuum.
iii. Employment contract The term employment contract as used in this study connotes the written or oral contract entered between the employer and the employee, where the former offers terms and conditions of employment and the latter renders services upon a reached agreement. An employment contract is a legally-binding document between an employee and employer. It typically details the expectations of the employment period. An employment contract, also known as an employee agreement, is a written document of the conditions of a job offer from an employer to a potential employee (Michael, 2019). It covers all of the terms of the new working relationship that will exist between the two parties. Typically, these documents will require signatures from both the employee and a representative of the company he or she is going to work for. Employment contracts are legally binding documents that grant information that protects both parties. Not every employee will be asked to sign an employment contract, and not every company uses them. Those who do use them do so for one purpose to establish a clear picture of the expectations of the employment period. It may also be useful in a legal dispute if it were to arise during or after employment (Michael, 2019).
A contract can completely negate at will employment in many cases and includes stipulations regarding promotions, rewards, duration and terminations which makes it a useful tool for enticing new employee. An employment contract is a legally enforceable agreement, either oral or written which defines terms and conditions of employment (Chang, 2008). The employment contract has been the key institution used as the basis of employment in enterprises (Zhu & Campbell, 2002) facilitating harmonious labour relations by specifying the powers and duties of both employer and employee.
This not only grants a fundamental basis for protecting an employee's rights at work but also serves as the primary reference point for adjudicating disputes (Chang, 2008;Remington & Cui, 2019). The contract lists the rights, expectations and obligations of both the company and the individual. It also states the duration and types of contract which determines if the employee's job is secured or not. Messmer (2000) found that one of the vital factors in job security is investment on employee training and career European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1905(Paper) ISSN 2222-2839(Online) Vol.13, No.23, 2021 development. Organization always invests in the form of training on those workers from whom they expect to keep and give output on its investment. Tomlinson (2002) forwarded the view that organizations can keep the leading edge in this competitive world by having their employee well trained in the latest technologies.

Training and Job security
A study conducted by Ronald and Lidewey (2006) revealed that the type of training and development plans put in place to develop the employee go a long way to determine the calibre of skills and knowledge they acquire which the employee will in turn bring into the organization which explains the commitment and job satisfaction of the employee which would decrease their intention to leave the organization. This implies that training participation has a positive effect on job security (internal and external) which retains employee.
No organization would dismiss its employees easily after spending huge sums of money on training. Training provides a special kind of job security that gives the employee satisfaction. Training is provided to workers in the oil and gas companies because of the complexity of the job done there, which reduces turnover and workers' intention to quit.

METHODOLOGY Design:
The study setting was a non-contrived setting, which means that subjects were in their natural environment. This study adopted a quasi-experimental design approach because it focused on more than three (3) subjects (organizations) and generalization was made. This study adopted a cross sectional survey method, which seeks to generate data at a given time.

Population and Sample Size:
The target population of this study consists of all the oil and gas companies in Nigeria which was out of place, because it was greatly cumbersome to study all oil and gas companies in Nigeria, therefore, an accessible population was chosen. The accessible population for this study comprised of four (4) selected oil and gas companies in Rivers State with a population of 1,945 employees. Sample size of 320 employees was drawn using the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) Population Size Table. Data Collection Methods: Primary data for this study was generated using structured questionnaire. Questionnaire copies were distributed to 320 oil and gas company workers in Rivers State; and was administered by the researcher and other assistants. Measurement: An all-inclusive questionnaire was designed by the researcher. Training was measured using 7 items. Job security was measured using 8 items (employability skills -3; work experience -2; employment contract -3) with each statement. Statements were all scaled on a 5-point Likert type scale. The researcher administered a total of 320 copies of the questionnaire to the respondents. Statistical tool of Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the strength and direction of the relationship between training and job security. Table 1 Questionnaire Response Rate S/N Questionnaires Frequency 1

DATA RESULTS
Number of questionnaires distributed 320 2 Number of questionnaires returned 262 3 Response Rate 94% Source: Field Survey, (2021) The table 1 represents the response rate to the questionnaire items. 320 questionnaires were distributed to respondents, and 262 questionnaires returned back for the analysis. The response rate indicates 94% for the study.  Table 2 shows the gender of our respondents. Among the two hundred and sixty two respondents, 206 representing 78.6% of the respondents were males, while 56 (21.4%) indicated female as their gender. This indicates that males are more than female in the selected oil and gas companies of study. The huge margin shows that the oil and gas sector requires more male than females due to the strenuous job involved. However, this has no influence on the outcome of the study.
European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1905(Paper) ISSN 2222-2839(Online) Vol.13, No.23, 2021 Table 3 shows the marital status of our respondents. Among the two hundred and sixty two respondents, 74 representing 28.2% of the respondents were singles, while 188 representing (71.8%) indicated married as their status. This indicates that married workers are more than singles workers in the selected oil and gas companies of study and as such would demand for job security. The age distribution data presented is two hundred and sixty-two (262) respondents and it fell within four cardinal age brackets. 26 representing 9.9% of the respondents fell within the age bracket of 25-30 years; 50 representing 19.1% of the respondents are within the ages of 31-35 years; 88 representing 33.6% of the respondents fell within the age bracket of 36 -40 years, while 98 representing 37.4% fell within the age bracket of 41 years and above. By this age distribution, it is evident that most of the employees of the oil and gas companies in Rivers State are within the ages of 41 years and above. This is not far from the reason that most persons from age 41 and above begin to demand for job security because age is no longer on their side. Going to look for a new job at that time is not always easy and guaranteed having put in most of their youthful years in their current place of work. The educational qualification of respondents presented shows that most of the oil and gas workers are educated. (157 representing 59.9% of the respondents) have Bachelor of Science (BSC) degree. 57 representing 21.8% of the respondents have Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate; 48 representing 18.3% of the respondents have Post Graduate Degree (PG). From the distribution above, it is evident that oil and gas workers are mostly educated and makes training a lot easier.  Survey, (2021). The years of experience distribution presented shows that most of the oil and gas workers (151 representing 50.0% of the respondents) have 1-5 years of working experience; 74 representing 28.2% of the respondents have 6 -10 years working experience, 45 representing 17.2% of the respondents have 11 -15 years working experience, while 12 representing 4.6% of respondents have 16 years and above working experience.
This shows that majority of the workers are not retained and eventually leave the oil and gas companies due to lack of years of experience needed on the job.   Table 7 shows the number of responses recorded in each of the response options. For instance, on the measurement item 7 respondents were required to indicate their view whether their organization is committed to the training of its workforce. Majority (173) of the respondents said, they agree, while 72 respondents strongly agree, 12 respondents were undecided and 5 respondents said they disagree. The dominant view therefore is that the organisations understudy are committed to the training of its workforce.  Table 8 shows the number of responses recorded in each of the response options. For instance, on the measurement item 1 respondents were required to indicate their view whether employability skills creates confidence in employees which brings about security of job in their organization. Majority (167) of the respondent said, they strongly agree, while 90 respondents agreed, 5 respondents were undecided. The dominant view therefore is that skills creates confidence in employees which brings about security of job in the organisations understudy.
European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1905(Paper) ISSN 2222-2839(Online) Vol.13, No.23, 2021 Table 9 shows the number of responses recorded in each of the response options. For instance, on the measurement item 1, respondents were required to indicate their view whether work experience is a great asset in their organization. Majority (177) of the respondents said, they strongly agree, while 85 respondents agreed. The dominant view therefore is that work experience is a great asset in the organisations understudy.  Table 10 shows the number of responses recorded in each of the response options. For instance, on the measurement item 3, respondents were required to indicate their view whether their organization offers permanent job contract always. Majority (140) of the respondent said, they agree, while 84 respondents strongly agree, 17 respondents were undecided and 21 respondents disagreed. The dominant view therefore is that the organisations understudy honours signed contract to its latter.

Decision Rule
If our statistical analysis shows that the significance level is below the cut-off value we have set (which is 0.05), we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis. Alternatively, if the significance level is above the cut-off value, the null hypothesis is accepted.
In testing the hypotheses one to three, the following rules were upheld in accepting or rejecting our null hypotheses. All the coefficient (r) values that indicate levels of significance (* or **) as calculated using SPSS were accepted and thus our alternate hypotheses were accepted and when no significance is indicated in the coefficient (r) value we reject the null hypotheses. We set out confidence interval at 0.05 level of significance to test the statistical significance of this study. We used both the significance values and the coefficient values.

Hypothesis 1
HO1: There is no significant relationship between training and employability skills.  -tailed) .050 N 262 262 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Table 11 revealed that there is a moderate positive relationship between training and employability skills at 0.423 at a significance level of 0.50 which is equal to the chosen alpha level of 0.05 for the hypothesis. The correlation is only statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance. Therefore, with a correlation of 0.423, we reject the null hypothesis and however accept the alternative hypothesis. This implies that there is a positive European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1905(Paper) ISSN 2222-2839(Online) Vol.13, No.23, 2021 relationship between training and employability skills in oil and gas companies in Rivers State.

Hypothesis 2
Ho2: There is no significant relationship between training and work experience.  -tailed) .023 N 262 262 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Table 12 revealed that there is a very strong positive relationship between training and work experience at 0.712 at a significance level of 0.23 which is less than the chosen alpha level of 0.05 for the hypothesis. The correlation is only statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance. Therefore, with a correlation of 0.712, we reject the null hypothesis and however accept the alternative hypothesis. This implies that there is a positive relationship between training and work experience in oil and gas companies in Rivers State.

Hypothesis 3
Ho3: There is no significant relationship between training and employment contract.  -tailed) .050 N 262 262 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Table 13 revealed that there is a moderate positive relationship between training and career development at 0.407 at a significance level of 0.50 which is equal to the chosen alpha level of 0.05 for the hypothesis. The correlation is only statistically significant at 0.01 level of significance. Therefore, with a correlation of 0.407, we reject the null hypothesis and however accept the alternative hypothesis. This implies that there is a relationship between training and employment contract in oil and gas companies in Rivers State.

Discussion of Findings
The test of hypotheses one to three revealed that training is positively correlated with the employability skills, work experience and employment contract in oil and gas companies in Rivers State. The hypotheses one to three implies that the more oil and gas companies invest in training such as on-the job training, mentoring and off-thejob-training, the more their employees get to perform better and meet the objectives and target of the organization thereby creating a bond between management and employees. This finding is in agreement with the findings of Ronald and Lideway (2006), Villegas (2006) and Abdulkadir, et al., (2012) that corporate investment in training and development is strongly and positively connected with psychological traits such as job satisfaction, intention to stay and employee satisfaction. Training in addition to making employee become efficient in their jobs, makes the employee feel vital and valued by his employer. Employees are likely to work more productively and committed if they are happy with the organization.

Conclusions
Based on the analyses of data and discussion of findings, the study concluded that training affects job security. Training offers both economic and psychological relief for members of a company which makes them feel appreciated. Therefore, any oil and gas company that is devoid of well-organized training, will experience low employee retention and significant rise in workers' intention to quit.