The aviation industry isn’t engaging its next generation of talent. For the past decade, the sector has focused on embracing new technologies, customer experience and environmental sustainability – which have all led to unprecedented innovation – but has neglected to plan for its future workforce. In times of crisis and uncertainty, finding and developing the next generation of leaders is vital to business and industry success.
The industry’s decade-long skills shortage is about to become more urgent than ever before. Boeing forecasts that global demand for aviation expertise will increase to an unprecedented level in the next 20 years. Airlines and MROs will require 800,000 new pilots – double the current available workforce – and 750,000 new technicians to build the 44,000 new aircraft needed around the world.
As business and personal travel becomes more desirable and affordable for new global demographics, skills are leaving the sector in increasing numbers: pilots are retiring more rapidly than ever before. As half of United Airlines pilots are approaching the mandatory retirement age of 65, America’s second-largest carrier will need to source and train 10,000 new pilots in the next 10 years to maintain required staffing levels.
At the 2019 Paris Airshow, then Boeing CEO, Dennis Muilenburg stated that lack of skills is “one of the biggest challenges” facing the industry. 42% of aviation business leaders identify a labour shortage in the maintenance technician field as the most urgent challenge they face.
With so many challenges occupying the market, staff recruitment, upskilling and retention are often seen as cost-centres and pushed back until urgently needed. In some case, as we’ve seen with the coronavirus and natural disasters, events are outside of control and must receive an emergency response. However, for the most part, future workforce planning is the most effective strategy to save money, deliver efficiencies and secure business success in the short- and long-term.
Diverse talent pools are the easiest place to source brand new trainees for pilots, technicians and other in-demand skill sets. The International Society of Women Airline Pilots reports that only 5% of pilots worldwide are female: just slightly more than the 3.5% reported in 1960. Students of ethnic minority background are also vastly underrepresented in all engineering-related fields. Young people from working class families are also particularly prevented from entering the aerospace field due to the significant cost investments involved in entering pilot training and a university degree or costly vocational qualifications attached to many career paths.
The untapped talent pool of diverse young people presents an opportunity for the industry to access fresh knowledge, experiences and perspectives, however, these young people are mostly unaware of the opportunities available to them. Like many technical fields, teachers and parents have no personal experience of the sector and are ill-equipped to promote its careers or provide guidance, and with little representation in the media, diverse young people may believe outdated perceptions of the industry and may not be able to see themselves succeeding in the sector.
By the time students begin university, it’s too late to reach them. Degrees are not best serving their pupils – half of all graduates do not go on to work in a path related to their degree – evidencing the need for new approaches to education. Whilst apprenticeships offered by airlines such as British Airways are an excellent start, the industry must engage potential talent at a much younger age.
Aviation leaders must follow the examples of engineering leaders and work together with schools and colleges. By speaking directly with children at GCSE age and younger, industry leaders can not only identify potential talent, but use direct conversations with young people to transform the brand of aviation and increasingly engage the next generation of talent.
