Future Challenges: Recruitment in Aviation

The aviation industry has an ongoing and growing need for specialised talent in the Asia Pacific region. This need is driven by technological advancement through new and diverse aircraft types, increased aircraft numbers and shortages in skills to meet periods of peak demand. For recruitment companies to help clients overcome these challenges there is a need to provide local solutions through innovative staffing and training and to offer a robust global talent pool to deliver highly specialised and experienced personnel.

There can be no replacement for onsite and local service when it comes to the recruitment of skilled staff. Each aviation client has its own specific company culture and DNA. It is important to focus on this to source staff that will champion the culture of the business and therefore be motivated to achieve company goals. Rob Bromage, Managing Director of APRG and IntelliHR Systems, believes that greater upfront investment in finding the right candidates may result in a 50% increase in employee performance. Utilising recruitment suppliers to broaden the candidate search in the sourcing process can increase the probability of finding the right employee to fit client culture and productivity needs.

To source the highly specialised and experienced personnel required in aviation, a global search capability is important. The benefit of having an international database of talent is to leverage off other markets such as Europe or the United States to target skilled candidates who may be more readily available. Aviation Labour Group focuses on ensuring a broad and well replenished global talent pool is effectively managed to be able to deliver in its markets across Asia Pacific and beyond.

All facets of aviation from flight crew, to maintenance and ramp services have different staffing cost pressures. It is the challenge of recruitment companies to offer permanent and temporary staffing solutions that deliver flexible and cost-effective outcomes. Due to the 24/7 nature of aviation, flexibility and innovation around shifts becomes very important. If the skill mix is right and rostering is optimised this can result in significant improvements in productivity. As technology develops staff must upskill to meet this challenge. While recruitment companies aim to provide the optimal fit for its clients, it is also important to focus on developing skills. Clients cannot be expected to take sole responsibility for training staff. For recruitment companies in aviation the onus is increasingly on them to facilitate and deliver training to ensure they are providing staff with skills relevant to industry needs.

The constant evolution of the aviation industry will continue to create high demand for experienced and specialised staff. By offering top talent globally, creating innovative staffing solutions and upskilling, aviation recruitment companies will be better prepared to meet the future challenges of the aviation industry through the Asia Pacific region and beyond.