More trainee posts than ever before will be available as part of next year's trainee programme. Statoil needs no less than 68 trainees in 2007. In 2006 there were 43.
Statoil is bringing forward the deadline to early December to net the best candidates.
"More and more students are being offered full-time jobs before they complete their studies," says Nickey Berg, vice president for learning solutions in corporate human resources (P&O).
"We've previously advertised trainee positions in February, the same time many other companies are looking for people. If we're to attract the best candidates we need to advertise earlier."
The trainee programme is aimed at recent graduates with up to two years' work experience. Candidates must have a Master's degree from a college or university. It was established to recruit further younger, talented employees as well as securing the company's long-term expertise requirements.
The two-year programme acquaints candidates with Statoil's value chain. They also get a good business understanding of the group.
Since recruitment began in 2001, the number of applicants has increased each year. In 2005, the programme was voted the most popular among Norwegian students in the Universum Graduate Survey.
More and more applicants have an international background. In 2004, only 8% of applicants lived outside Scandinavia, while in 2005, there were 20%. The 2006 intake had a 37% international representation.
"We hope the trend will continue because this time, we're looking for a large number of international candidates," Ms Berg comments.
The recruitment drive starts on 18 November. Trainee positions will be listed at www.statoil.com in addition to Norwegian and international press advertisements.