OMV awards technical scholarships to young women

September 10, 2013 - 11:30 am (CET)

• Initiative aims to increase the percentage of women in technical sphere
• 15 scholars selected from over 150 applicants
• Gender diversity and equal opportunities at heart of HR strategy

OMV, the international oil and gas company, is once again awarding scholarships to young women who are interested in technology and engineering. An assessment center was used to select the 15 scholarship recipients from a pool of over 150 applicants. The technical scholarship program was launched in 2012 and aims to increase the percentage of women in technical careers.

“We are awarding technical scholarships to encourage more young women to opt for vocations in technology and engineering. This should help to boost the number of women studying technical subjects, which currently stands at around 20%”, commented OMV CEO Gerhard Roiss when awarding the certificates to the students. “We have received more than twice as many applications as last year; this shows that we’re on the right track.” 15 scholarship recipients were chosen from more than 150 applicants, with the use of an assessment center.

The scholarships have been in place since autumn 2012 and support 15 students per year in their technology-based studies for the duration of their bachelor degrees; both financial and academic support is provided. The 15 successful applicants receive a monthly grant of EUR 350. At the same time OMV offers recipients the opportunity to gain work experience, as well as assisting with their dissertations. All of the scholars from 2012 have successfully completed their first year of higher education. Nearly every scholar has made the most of the opportunity to take up a work experience placement at OMV. “It was exactly during my internship that I got a huge boost in motivation”, said Barbara Schnöpf on her first work experience at OMV. “I can really apply what I’ve learnt and influence what’ s actually going on – this certainly inspires me in my studies”. Barbara Schnöpf is studying Petroleum Engineering and has already completed her fourth semester.

Background information:

The Technical Scholarship
Launched in 2012, the “Technical Scholarship” initiative allows OMV to make a targeted contribution to increasing the percentage of women in the fields of technology and engineering, as well as boosting the number of female graduates in technical disciplines. With OMV’s sustainability concept, “Resourcefulness”, OMV supports an array of initiatives aimed at increasing the appeal of technology among young people, especially women, thereby countering the shortfall of skilled and specialized workers long-term. In particular, this scholarship strives to support young women from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition to a passion for technology, applicants must have successfully completed their secondary education (school-leaving certificate) and plan to start a degree course in autumn 2013 in subjects such as mechanical engineering or process engineering; students in their first year of higher education are also eligible. Scholarship students must study at one of the five eligible universities (University of Leoben, Vienna University of Technology, Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Graz University of Technology, University of Vienna) and provide confirmation of enrolment along with an annual confirmation of achievement.

Gender diversity and equal opportunities at heart of HR strategy
Gender diversity and equal opportunities are critical issues at OMV and represent a key component of the HR strategy. As the company’s origins are in the mining industry and OMV has historically pursued an increased focus on technology, the staff structure has tended to be male dominated. In the medium to long term, the goal is to increase the number of women, both in technical positions and overall. In Austria OMV employs around 3,600 staff, with women accounting for around 22%. There are around 29,000 employees internationally, with women making up around 23%. OMV has successfully managed to increase the percentage of women at Senior Vice President level from 6% in 2010 to around 13% at the end of 2012, a two-fold increase. OMV is committed to increasing this to 18% by 2015.

OMV Aktiengesellschaft
With Group sales of EUR 42.65 bn and a workforce of around 29,000 employees in 2012, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is Austria’s largest listed industrial company. In Exploration and Production, OMV is active in two core countries Romania and Austria and holds a balanced international portfolio with a production of around 303,000 boe/d in 2012. In Gas and Power, OMV sold approximately 437 TWh of gas in 2012. In Austria, OMV operates a 2,000 km long gas pipeline network with a marketed capacity of around 103 bcm in 2012. In Refining and Marketing, OMV has an annual refining capacity of 22 mn t and as of the end of 2012 approximately 4,400 filling stations in 13 countries including Turkey.

For further information, please contact:

OMV Media Relations:
Johannes Vetter, Tel,: +43 1 40440 22729, e-mail: johannes.vetter@omv.com
Robert Lechner, Tel.: +43 1 40440 21472, e-mail: robert.lechner@omv.com

OMV Investor Relations:
Felix Rüsch, Tel.: +43 1 40440 21600, e-mail: investor.relations@omv.com

Web: www.omv.com
 
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