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An aviation interview coach has listed several reasons behind the sector’s labour shortage crisis and addressed how to attract a new generation of talent into the industry.
Ahead of the inaugural Australian Aviation Summit 2024, founder of Pinstripe Solutions Kirsty Anne Ferguson said the perceived instability has made aviation an unattractive sector for the younger generations.
The COVID pandemic contributed significantly to this perception, with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) estimating that Australia’s aviation sector directly employed more than 93,000 people prior to COVID across its major subsectors, including domestic, commercial aviation, international commercial aviation, general aviation, air‑freight transport and aviation support infrastructure.
However, the Aviation Industry Reference Committee’s Aviation Industry Outlook in June 2021 revealed that employment numbers had plunged to around 65,000 people employed as at June 2021 (AISC made similar estimates in January 2022).
“There’s currently a lack of trust from people entering the aviation industry. Aviation was considered one of the few long-term careers where often, people would stay for entire careers because they’re very passionate about their industry. But it’s not the case for the new generation,” Ferguson told Australian Aviation.
“Trust is incredibly important when you want to invest in your career in a particular industry. If candidates don’t feel secure about their career, that exacerbates the problem as well because it’s harder to convince people that this is a good career choice.”
Moreover, during the pandemic, tens of thousands of employees retired or were made redundant, which led to many candidates retraining in other fields and refusing to return to aviation.
“A recent ABC report said wee had 25,000 people leave commercial aviation during the pandemic, and many did not return,” Ferguson said.
Another barrier to entry is fewer training programs being offered by airlines, while the ones that are available have become more expensive. Ferguson noted that several pilot cadetship programs closed during the pandemic.
She suggested that airlines could reintroduce cost-effective cadetships with built-in planned funding for pilots, engineers, and other subsectors to foster trust in the industry.
“If candidates see that airlines are investing in them, they would be more willing to commit to the industry, which helps build trust,” Ferguson reasoned.
For example, last year, Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) announced the largest intake to the company’s trade workforce by recruiting eight new apprentices who graduated from Aviation Australia’s (AA) 80-day Certificate II in Aircraft Line Maintenance.
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand launched its first-ever Mangōpare Pilot Cadetship earlier this month, which, according to the airline, is an all-inclusive training program that accelerates the time taken to becoming a commercial pilot from the typical 24 to 36 months to around 14 months.
The initial commitment is to select 30 Kiwi pilots for the cadetship, who will begin training in small cohorts in September 2024. The majority of the costs, including the training and living expenses, will be funded by Air New Zealand.
“If the new generation could access subsidised cadetship programs like these, along with government fee relief for training programs, they could see a pathway more clearly,” Ferguson said.
Retaining the aviation workforce requires organisations to offer globally competitive remuneration packages and other benefits.
“But it’s not just competitive pay scales that’ll keep employees happy. It’s culture as well,” she said.
“Organisations have to live up to their values. Now that our industry is recovering from the pandemic let’s reinstate our values so that our employees who represent our brand feel happy. Employees need to be heard, acknowledged, and rewarded. I think every organisation – including mine – has to ask themselves whether they’re doing this or what they should be doing differently.”
In addition, Ferguson recommended educating school students at career days about the career opportunities available to them.
“At Pinstripe Solutions, we start at the grassroots level in year 10 because that’s when we can show a full cohort of potential aviators that there are career pathways across the different subsectors,” she said.
“Year 10 students are selecting subjects for Year 11, so the timing is crucial to start promoting the aviation career options.”
Finally, she underscored that addressing the talent shortage requires collaboration between the government and the aviation industry.
“After what we’ve been through in the past few years, this is not something we can combat on our own. We need every part of our industry working together with the government,” she concluded.
To hear more from Kirsty Anne Ferguson about how the aviation industry could overcome the talent shortage and attract the next generation of leaders, come along to the Australian Aviation Summit 2024.
It will be held on Thursday, 29 August 2024 at The Star, Sydney.
Click here to book tickets and don’t miss out!
For more information, including agenda and speakers, click here.
