The problem of skilled labour shortage in the aviation industry is rising every month with increasing demand and airlines, OEMs, and MROs are starting to feel the pinch. The aviation industry was already facing a workforce crunch and the pandemic made it worse. With thousands of skilled pilots and technicians forced either to quit or to go on furloughs, the industry has dug a deeper pit which is proving to be difficult to fill.
Now as travel is picking up airlines and allied services are finding it difficult to fill in the vacant posts with employees refusing to come back to work for such a volatile sector.
The recent examples were the chaotic situation at many European airports during the 2022 peak summer season, leading to long passenger queues, mishandling of baggage, and flight cancellations causing airports to cut capacity.
Jim Scott, component supply specialists Artemis Aerospace, said: “However, the staff shortage issue runs far deeper than illness or even the pandemic. It's true that the pandemic was a catalyst for thousands of staff leaving the industry and, consequently, many have made a conscious decision never to return, citing job insecurity as a prominent reason for this decision. In reality, the aviation industry has been experiencing a downturn in skilled workers across all job roles for many years.”
A recent finding by Goose Recruitment with FlightGlobal revealed that in 2019, strong global demand for aviation services meant that many regions, including China, South America and North America, were experiencing an acute skills shortage in the supply of experienced flight crew, and that this had been the case for almost two decades. It also revealed that, despite the impact of the pandemic, 43% of pilots surveyed believed there would not be enough experienced pilots to meet demand in five years.
The problem isn't isolated to pilots or flight crew. Research carried out in 2017 by Oliver Wyman's MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) survey showed that there was an urgent shortage of skilled technicians in the aviation industry and that demand far outweighed the number of workers needed to keep up with requirements.
At that time, the Oliver Wyman MRO survey also stated that 42% of industry leaders identified a labour shortage in the maintenance technician field as the most urgent challenge in the aerospace and aviation sector and that global demand was set to overtake supply by 2027. They identified two key reasons for this: a lack of interest in aviation from younger talent pools and an ageing workforce creating a gap that wasn't being filled.
The latest study by Oliver Wyman shows global aviation to be short nearly 80,000 pilots by 2032, absent a downturn in future demand and/or strenuous efforts by the industry to bolster the supply of pilots. Airbus echoes their views, predicting the need for over 585,000 new pilots, 640,000 new technicians, and 875,000 new cabin crews in the next 20 years, almost doubling the value of the service market from the present value.
It's time the entire industry comes together to reach out to younger people in more targeted, creative and compelling ways that will inspire them to seek out a career in aviation.
Many aerospace companies are actively working towards this goal, Airbus, along with other major companies, including Atkins, MBDA and Babcock, have committed to QinetiQ's 'The 5% Club', which pledges to have 5% of their overall UK headcount on a formalised apprentice, sponsored student and/or graduate programme.
In 2021, two new apprenticeship standards were approved for aviation: aviation customer service operative and ground handler. These provide direct entry into the sector and vital operational knowledge to aid future progression.
In the US, Tulsa Tech, which offers a programme of aviation-related workforce training and development courses and classes, has used a strategy of community outreach programmes to reach students in primary and secondary schools to pique their interest at a young age. As well as school visits, Tulsa Tech regularly holds open houses at their facilities, hosting various meetings and events to raise awareness of the courses they have on offer for aspiring students.
Many people are using social media as a medium to attract young talent towards aviation. The action group, Women in Aviation International, is actively harnessing social media to reach out to young girls while highlighting the wide range of opportunities on offer and encouraging them to seek roles without limitations
Community outreach programmes, visiting and speaking in schools, sign-up incentives, open houses and workshops are all ways that the aviation sector can improve its ability and opportunity to attract new talent.