Paying it forward

In Australia, our lack of numbers certainly makes the task harder, especially when we also have a thin population outside the major cities.

One of The Aviation Associations Forum’s 2016 election policies was specifically aimed at creating the resources to address this issue through the conversion of Airservices to a not-for-profit entity along the incredibly successful Canadian model – which, by the way, just announced a significant reduction in charges for industry – 7. 6 per cent and a total saving to industry of about $100 million! The critical policy issue though, apart from a more efficient air traffic provider, is to create a pool of funds from the sale of Airservices to establish three small entities to support the industry – one for better training (including the establishment of a HECS-style scheme for our industry), one for research to drive progress and facilitate the exchange of information, and one for leadership, including the promotion of careers and harmonisation.

While not everything should fall to government, there is a lot to be said for establishing a national vehicle to promote aviation careers. Individual associations and individual companies have certainly tried hard over the years, but sometimes we need to band together to make a difference and have a coherent voice that can be heard above the noise and the competing careers available to young people.

Whether as an airline, charter, airwork or application pilot there are plenty of different pathways to getting into the flying side of the industry. And of course pilots would be going nowhere fast without LAMEs, design engineers and trade specialists. Add to that the raft of supporting careers from air traffic control to operations managers to sales, to trade, fuel, insurance and business managers, to marketing, PR and even regulators – and the industry begins to look like a very attractive sector regardless of your skills or background.

In the aerial application sector there is the added bonus of being integrated into local communities where you can make a very positive difference to the community and farmers through crop protection and bushfire fighting.

The point is that aviation is one of the few careers that can grow with you.

Moving from student to pilot-in-command, getting your first seat and then building your experience, progressing perhaps to chief pilot and then to business owner, is a journey that can take years. The friends made along the way and the fun had in rising to the challenge are enormously satisfying in a way that other industries just don’t deliver.

With that progression comes the key sustaining responsibility – to make sure when you get in a position to do so, you give a young person a start.

If you just cherry-pick from other operators who have done the hard yards and invested in the future, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Regardless of whether the job you are able to offer is in the office, as a loader/mixer, as a LAME or as a pilot, the important thing is to ‘pay it forward’ and give people a chance to join our industry.

Aviation is a great career that can take many pathways – some unexpected – and can be built on any number of skills. The challenge for all current participants in the industry is to identify the actions we can take to encourage more people to take up this most flexible and rewarding of careers.

Aviation is one of the few careers that can grow with you.