Unblocking the talent pipeline

One of the main reasons I think many of our members are joining us is that they’re trying to tackle gender issues. They’re all aware that there’s a long-standing problem. So, they come to our organisation to connect, to hear and to participate, but also so that they can understand the opportunities and to try to make a difference, particularly on gender issues.

We obviously do a lot around the talent pipeline and STEM issues – it’s one of the issues that our members raise with us every time we’re in their presence, the constant need to recruit, to train and to retain people in an industry that moves very fast and is obviously competing with newer industries that pay more, like cyber, AI, et cetera. So those are two of the prime values that we deliver, and obviously, we do a lot of walking the hallways of Parliament House to try to raise member issues as they come up with parliamentarians.

AA: What is the scope of the problem with the aviation talent pipeline, and what do you think are some of the root causes?

AD: This is an industry that employs a lot of STEM persons, people with science, technology, engineering and maths backgrounds. Across the broader STEM industry, there’s a serious challenge, particularly regarding the representation of women.

On STEM, parliament has just been talking about mathematics, and I don’t know if people know this, but it was only really recently that maths was dropped from mandatory requirements in the school curriculum, which means that people coming through the schooling system, particularly over the last five to six years, do not necessarily have mathematical capabilities that the older generations had. This is the first time that maths has been removed from the mandatory curriculum, which means that the attraction of people with just general STEM skills, regardless of being women as well, is going to become even harder.

We’re going to have a generation coming through that won’t be able to take up those careers very easily. Looking at general numbers, whilst the numbers are increasing, women are not increasing at the same rate as men in STEM. Women make up about 29 per cent of the STEM workforce, despite at times being a much higher proportion; in engineering, that figure is obviously much lower. The one stat I like to share with people is that in Australia, the last report they released showed that fewer than 5 per cent of engineers born in Australia are women, which shows a serious challenge.

A/AA conducted a survey back in 2020, the Barriers to the Pipeline survey, which showed that despite a very strong love of aviation, aerospace, and space among women, the industry itself was very unattractive to retaining and keeping them in the workforce. We’ve just finished a round of surveys, and we’re hoping to release those results in mid-June, which kind of builds on it to go “[with] the change in attitudes, has anything happened in the last 20 years?” I suspect we know the change has been very, very minor, but we want to monitor it to see what it is.

AA: What about other areas of diversity – race and neurodiversity, for example?

AD: It is very clear that Indigenous and First Nations representation has been a challenge in this industry, and there’s some wonderful programs out there that very much target, particularly First Nations people. It’s no surprise that a large proportion of Australia’s population has some form of neurodiversity, and aviation and aerospace most certainly have that diversity within them, and it has been a challenge. I know from the recent Progress Report that neurodiversity came up in these sectors as an area where many people who are diverse in that respect love aviation and aerospace because of its quirks, nerdiness, and intricacies, but have had challenges progressing through them. I think that a better understanding of those different ways of working, and making the workplace better for everyone, makes a huge difference.

I also like to remind people that when women make up 50 or 51 per cent of the population, when you change things to make things more attractive to women, it will obviously have an impact on all those other minority groups. So, when you make it more welcoming to the other 51 per cent, you also end up making it much more welcoming to people who don’t fit the traditional mould of what somebody working in aviation looks like.

Putting aviators in schools

AA: What is Aviation/Aerospace Australia doing to address these issues?

AD: We’re partnering with CSIRO to deliver the Aviators in Schools program. Now, this is a wonderful program that’s part of the general CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools. We encourage and support professionals to visit schools to talk about careers and how exciting different aspects of the aviation, aerospace, and space industries are.

Lots of people are often really scared about going into schools, because kids know a lot, and it can be quite daunting if you haven’t been back to your school in a couple of years or 20 years. But CSIRO does a wonderful thing: they work hand in hand with professionals to go into schools. So, firstly, they’ll make sure all the ticks and balances are in place, so that the schools know the professionals going in are appropriate for the school environment. They will then walk you through processes, and it’s very much at the professional’s pace. So, if you want to go into a school and talk once or twice a year, or if you want to have a partnership where you bring in and you go out to an airfield, et cetera, it is completely up to the STEM professional, and CSIRO are wonderful at doing education and outreach.

I highly encourage anybody listening to Google Aviators in Schools, or you can go to our website, or STEM Professionals in Schools with CSIRO, and you will get the two-minute EOI process to register your interest, and then CSIRO and A/AA will be in touch with you for the next steps.

AA: How is the program going, and how is it addressing some of the key factors around the lack of engagement or interest in aviation careers?

AD: STEM Professionals in Schools has been going, I think, for more than 10 years. We started this program about nine months ago to really focus on the Aviators in Schools program, and it’s been really, really wonderful. I think we’ve had over 200 people register their interest. There’s something like 55 or 60 partnerships that are currently working across the country, in regional areas particularly – shout out to Victoria, who pull their weight a lot – and those partnerships, I’m part of that, and I go and talk to schools, and have a wonderful time engaging with anybody from the age of four all the way up to, I think, 18.

The main reason that this program is needed, and why it’s been funded by the Australian government, is because “you can’t be what you can’t see”, and we all know that early perceptions of industries start at the schooling age. In fact, by the time somebody is around nine or 10, they know if they’re going to do something more in the STEM area or in a different pathway, for instance. So, bringing in people from the industry across different areas and at different stages is just a wonderful way for students to get real-life experience without having to go out to a site.

When you see it in full, it’s the most beautiful moment, when you see students so curious to know every aspect you know. I remember watching someone who was doing ramp operations for one of the airlines speak, and it was just wonderful, because some of these students don’t want to be university people; they want to be tradies. And these are real examples of cool things that they can do, and didn’t know that they could, then get travel benefits and see the world as well by being a ramp operator, or the technical role of managing an operations centre. It’s not until kids see this and can talk to real people that this is role-modelled.

AA: What kind of activities are offered?

AD: That very much comes down to what the STEM professional wants to do. I’ve just been doing something with cool aeronautics where we make planes and gliders out of balsa wood – not my forte, I’m very good at getting glue stuck on my hair – but it is wonderful to see, when you do something, how much all of those learnings come together: flight, weight, why noses are the way they are on aeroplanes.

It’s absolutely up to the STEM professional. In some cases, I come in, and I talk around this little PowerPoint presentation, and two or three images can make a huge difference. In other cases, it’s hands-on building activities. But the one thing that I always tell people is that, if you’re nervous and you’re part of the aviation sector, nothing gets kids more competitive than doing just your paper aeroplanes, and that is a good way to break the ice and engage – but sometimes I bring Lego in, sometimes I bring my rockets in.

Creating STEM Olympians

AA: More broadly, what kind of policy settings would you like to see to attract more young people into STEM careers?

AD: We need to increase STEM uptake in the school environment. That obviously goes towards a need for mathematics to be a part of the general curriculum. We would also try to encourage more STEM professionals to be in schools, who can supplement the curriculum, because I’m very well aware that teachers have a lot on their plate to educate our young Australians – more support and help are needed. And the thing is, that takes co-ordination, time and effort, and we’ve been very lucky to have received some funding from the Australian government to do that, but to do it on a short-term basis.

You really need the sustained effort over 20 to 30 years, which means confidence, particularly around funding – education should not be left purely to the responsibility of industry, should really be funded in a systematic, very deliberate manner. I know that the government is currently considering the outcomes of the Diversity in STEM review, which showed that $100 million had been put into STEM, into improving diversity in STEM, and the results did not really have a material change. It suggests that you need serious commitment by the Australian government towards prioritising STEM and seeing that an industry like aviation, which captures the heart and imagination of people, including space, is used as a mechanism to really attract people.

AA: What would be your key message to industry and government on this?

AD: To industry, I would say you need to lead by example. There is no point complaining about a lack of talent and struggling to retain your people if you’re making no effort to bring them in and to consider them early on. And to the Australian government, and more broadly, I would make it very clear that Australia is going to be hosting the Olympics in 2032 – I can assure you that the IOC and the Australian supporting people are already targeting nine-year-olds and 10-year-olds to be Olympians at that very event.

I would suggest that we take the same attitude and approach to STEM engagement by targeting younger people. I’d go all the way back to starting at four years old, because if you don’t capture their interest and don’t have the sustained effort we have in sports, we will really struggle to see the benefits over the next 15 to 20 years.