No wonder

Response to the article from our readers was immediate, informative, forthright and detailed, often scathing and sometimes sur-prising. Many of their well-informed com-ments will have governments, the airlines and other organisations ducking for cover.

Due to the passion and thought given to those responses, we’ve reprinted the article below – by Jim Carden, chief executive of Aviation/Aerospace Australia – followed by a cross-section of the avalanche of replies we received: As a boy on a rare international flight with the family years ago, I vividly recall a cabin crew member asking if I wanted to have a peek in the cockpit.

Having boarded the plane wide-eyed with excitement I had stolen a glimpse at the dazzling array of instruments, levers and buttons that would inform the cockpit design of my fantasy plane made up of pil-lows, chairs and tables in the living room.

Somewhere high above outback Aus-tralia that day, in the cockpit of a Qantas Boeing 707, I was – like millions of boys and girls around the world – captured by the magic of aviation.

Decades later, my fascination remains. But things have changed and aviation no longer seems to have captured the imagi-nations of our kids the way it once did. Somehow, the glamour and prestige of our industry has waned over the years, per-haps because we have gone from being a “modern miracle” to a necessary economic function – a mature industry and mode of travel that is now taken for granted.

Perhaps that’s why we have a looming crisis of skills and capacity in an industry that used to rate among schoolchildren’s top three career choices 20 or 30 years ago. Once upon a time, every kid wanted to be a pilot or a rocket scientist but now careers advisers will tell you it barely rates a men-tion at career nights.

And perhaps that’s why industry leaders are now calling for a national education campaign to boost flagging interest in ca-reers in aviation and aerospace, to overcome a skills deficit that is threatening the very viability of our industry.

It could be argued that as an industry we have dined out on our fading glamour a bit too long and relied too heavily on the “the fascination of flight”. The industry now has to fight for what has become a contestable human resource pool with a range of other better-paid, higher-profile industries. Speakers at the first Aviation and Aero-space Skills Summit in Melbourne recently blamed the shortages of pilots, air traffic controllers, engineers and other profession-als on competition from “better-marketed” careers, the lure of the resources sector, the perception of a local industry in its dying days and the rise of jobs that require the same skill-sets in engineering, manufactur-ing and technology.

While there is no doubt an element of nostalgia for the past, there is nevertheless a sense that our industry is less accessible, more regulated and looks like “just another job”. Of course, we will never go back to bringing kids into the cockpit mid-flight but we do have to find ways to raise the profile of a sector that faces major growth and requires a sustained pipeline of skilled workers to fulfil this growth.

The skills summit was, interestingly, the first time the broad range of aviation and aerospace stakeholders had collectively addressed a challenge that was confronting us all.

It heard, on the one hand, heady pro-jections that forecast strong long-term growth, despite the likelihood of sustained economic pressures from Europe and a flat American economy.

All speakers cited the task of attract-ing, training and retaining good people as among their top three challenges – a problem compounded by the limited size of the Australian market and popula-tion, a strong Australian dollar, and the ubiquitous impact of the mining boom on retention rates.

Australian industry also is facing an historic growth in the capacity of our Asian neighbours to undertake the manufactur-ing, research and maintenance activities that Australia has traditionally owned – and when this capability reaches critical mass, there is going to be a major drain on our limited skills base.

As Australia’s peak body for aviation and aerospace, we were hugely encouraged by the collegiate approach to this first Skills Summit, which was the first time such a wide range of aviation and aero-space players had come together to find common ground.

With representatives from four states, the federal government and New Zealand, and the big players like Boeing, Airbus, Virgin and Qantas, this is clearly an issue of importance.

And while there is no silver bullet, the summit augured well for an industry-wide approach to the problem – and indeed other challenges facing our sector. This has to be a conversation that is sustained and the solutions have to be long-term, and A/AA is pleased to be playing its part in driving that conversation.

“I will be doing everything in my power to stop my kids from starting a career in aviation. I just think that they deserve better and can do better.”

Our Readers Reply

George Canciani says: Might be co-incidence but could it be that interest in aviation among young people diminished at the same time as the closure of observation decks at most of our major airports? To see, hear and smell the presence of aeroplanes used to be addictive in a positive sense.

Reasons for the closure of the observa-tion decks always seem to revolve around security and/or cost. Maybe this is the price the aviation industry is now paying. Just my two cents (or bobs) worth from a frustrated aviation enthusiast.

‘Interesting’ says: There has been talk of a skills shortage in the aviation industry for countless years now. Looks like finally people are starting to worry. I believe peo-ple are not interested in this industry for a number of reasons. From a pilot’s point of view: 1. It’s very expensive to obtain a com-mercial pilot’s licence and an instrument rating.

2. There is no guarantee that you will make it to an airline to earn the “big bucks”.

From the people in my university course there are only about five flying for an airline.

3. The remuneration in GA is very poor.

4. The remuneration and benefits in airlines have decreased. A captain 10 to 15 years ago on an aircraft in the 100-seat category would be earning around the low $200k mark annually. Compare that to now, captains are on about $150-160k – a massive reduction.

5. Airlines now want you to pay for your endorsement for the aircraft type that you will be flying. That’s another $30k to pay for the privilege of having a job.

6. You have to do an annual medical to ensure you are fit to hold your pilot’s licence.

7. There is ongoing study and testing for the duration of your career.

8. We aren’t attracting people to our industry. There are many other jobs and industries out there that pay better and are not nearly as demanding. I will be doing everything in my power to stop my kids from starting a career in aviation. I just think that they deserve better and can do better.

Steven Kilpatrick says: The industry should work with the likes of the Austral-ian Air League, which promotes aviation in kids aged between eight and 18. They are involved with everything to do with aviation but have to raise the funds to keep squadrons going with all officers being volunteers. It’s hard these days just to get officers, let alone kids! Luke says: The only upside of this for existing pilots might be the increase in wages that might result from the lack of supply of pilots to the workforce. Airlines would have to do this to attract the ever diminishing pool of qualified pilots.

The risk of this diminished selection pool is that of a drop in recruiting standards – which cannot be allowed to happen. I think in light of this CASA needs to put a big emphasis on the standards of pilots.

Not only that but I’ve read a number of accident investigations involving pilots with high stress levels caused by financial stress. Surely as this creates a safety issue, CASA should have a direct control of minimum financial reimbursement for pilots? Ensur-ing that pilots are paid as professionals with greater appreciation for the high barrier to entry will increase the standard of pilot recruited and decrease the level of stress these pilots feel.

DR says: After spending $70k on a CPL, MECIR and turbine rating for a job I started training on, the $100 a day, four days a week wasn’t going to support my family. Back to my old job with better pros-pects. Do I still dream of flying? Only every day. Is it going to be a reality? Not if I want to subject my wife and children to abject poverty for the next five years or so.

Dane says: I looked at doing an appren-ticeship with Forstaff Aviation at Avalon in 2007. Coincidentally, that year Qantas had a takeover bid from an American company and no apprenticeships were offered that year. In hindsight, am glad I didn’t pursue that career as there is no stability in our aviation industry, especially in maintenance and ground staff roles.

Australia is no longer attractive for avia-tion jobs. Pilots can get better perks with overseas airlines like Emirates and main-tenance is cheaper and quicker overseas. Maintainers here are well under-valued for what they do and are paid too little for the critical role they have in ensuring planes stay in the air. Airlines have to offer better salaries – and then the industry will be at-tractive to today’s youth.

The Lecturer says: Interesting to note that most of the emphasis, in both the article itself and the comments that fol-lowed, related to a shortage of pilots. Need I remind folks that AMEs, licensed and non-licensed, are not only just as critical to the future of aviation but more of them are required in the years to come – accord-ing to the latest forecast by Boeing and other reputable sources – both locally and globally.

Industry could also help itself in this regard by taking on more Aeroskills ap-prentices each year. More importantly, it could not only support but take an active role in growing the AME labour force by being more supportive and getting itself better informed about the competency-based training and assessment process that underpins the new Part 66 licensing system recently introduced by CASA.

Remember, without apprentices, the aviation industry will run out of maintain-ers, and without maintainers, pilots are pedestrians.

SM says: I did my bachelor in aviation management with student pilots a few years ago. The hard work involved and the passion to learn science subjects have diminished.

The fascination of aviation careers decades ago was the high-flier status. The pilots, engineers and other aviation tech professionals were in a class of their own with so many perks attached to the job.

I would have loved to be a pilot but found it too expensive. It is sad to see not just the skills but the background knowl-edge that was seen in the earlier days disap-pearing as well. But I do hope we will see more smart, passionate and ‘skilled’ aviation professionals in the coming years.

Baldy says: As an ADF apprentice who has just finished an AME-Mechanical Cert IV, there is no incentive to going into civil aviation as my prospects are lower wages and no job security. I can tell you that no-one is leaving a squadron for a civilian aviation job.

Everyone I know is off to the mines for some real money. What do you do when your passion has no reward? Random says: You can’t get into the cockpit any more, just to take a peek, or even sit in for a sector. Bin Laden and his cronies have something to answer for.

East-West Airlines Fantasy Flights no longer exist – and neither does the airline – a shame because both were eminently affordable in the days before rampant discounting and you often got to sit in the cockpit. The crew would sometimes even seek you out.

Relentless corporatism has changed aviation forever. Little did Freddie Laker realise that his trend would also see the death of aviation’s positive “mystique”, which delivered something exciting about aviation as a career and also as a passenger experience. The rush towards egalitarianism killed a lot of good things and that posi-tive mystique was quite possibly the most important of them.

The day that airlines decided training aircrew “in-house” was an unnecessary fi-nancial burden was a sad day. Instead, they decided to cancel cadetship schemes, limit them to airline family members or place a hefty bonded cost on individuals, who in most cases were already up to their eyeballs in debt for their flying to that point. Only now that the airlines are desperate for staff are they trying to change it back. Aircrew remuneration for new contracts is nothing enticing and is going backwards every year compared to other professions. The pay and conditions have become more difficult but the responsibility and media headlines if it all goes wrong haven’t changed – they may even be worse in the modern media. Hard to believe turboprop aircrew make so little – $50-75K is plain awful – when they still have 30-plus peoples’ lives in their hands.

Bob Hawke started the rot when he denounced aircrew as “bus drivers”, con-veniently forgetting that it’s hard to park your plane by the nearest cloud and take a moment when it is all going wrong.

The Qantas conundrum: can’t perform effectively as an ultra-premium airline, too expensive as a low cost carrier and has burned its spiritual advantage of unim-peachable maintenance standards in trying to survive. It’s hard to feel positive about the industry when you witness that.

The global industry’s collective in-ability to really control fuel pricing makes the whole industry unstable. The result is that every other cost, such as staff, service, comfort items etc, many of the things that make flying attractive other than its relative speed, become the problem expenses that are periodically culled. If you were a parent advising your kids on a stable career . . . ? There are very few places these days to “plane watch” close to the action. Sounds minor but these are the things that get kids hooked.

General aviation and the airlines act as if they have no relationship with each other at all. Worse still, neither of them are mak-ing enough money to help the other out even if they did want to change that.

Many of the current generation now concede . . . it used to be different, now it’s just a job.

Boltz says: Pay pilots what they’re worth. There’s a shortage because the airlines only want to pay $60k to have someone sit up front. Look at Rex. FOs get $40k and captains $60-$70k. What a joke. I left flying two years ago and am now in a job that pays $100k. How can you compare? I wanted to stay in GA. Loved it. Never had dreamed of going to the airlines. But the remuneration of $40k-$60k is never going to keep me there.

Mike Borgelt says: Your local GA airport now looks like Stalag 17, complete with barbed wire and high fences, pervasive “security” procedures. An out-of-control bureaucracy controls all activity, costs are now outrageous – and you have to wonder why nobody wants to go into aviation as a career? They don’t even begin to get inter-ested because of the unfriendly atmosphere and barriers in the way. That’s just GA.

Why would anyone not interested in aviation want to fly airliners? They get into flying via GA for the most part.

Lucas says: I see in the comments posted so far that there is quite a lot of different input across all areas of the industry but it all seems to boil down to cost involved and the returns offered through salary. I often relate getting the ‘top’ jobs as no different to rock star status in terms of breaking through and reaching that level of command and pay.

Being a once-aspiring pilot myself, hav-ing undertaken some training, I can speak from experience in saying that it is very large outlay for no immediate return. I understand that good things come to those who wait but in today’s society and with the cost of living being what it is only a very select few can afford the privilege of training to an employable level.

Airlines really need to revisit taking the training of future pilots upon themselves, not unlike the RAAF, offering incentives and a reasonable standard of living to gain CPL, ATPL etc. Of course this probably won’t happen as long as investors are the top priority for airlines, with profit coming before anything else.

They can’t have their cake and eat it too, if they want highly trained Australian pilots they need to provide the avenues and training to enable this. Of course, there’s always outsourcing to Asia for aircrew and ground staff . . .