3 Strategies to Rebuilding the Aviation Workforce

The aviation industry relies heavily on a skilled and diverse workforce. Today, there is a significant gap between the supply and demand. Industry stakeholders including airports, civil aviation authorities, and other airport business operators cannot afford to stay in siloes, pursuing their own interests. They need to intentionally engage with each other in their communities to ensure a steady pipeline of skilled workers to sustainably maintain the global air transportation system.

The pandemic saw the industry lose its workforce at epic proportions, practically halved, with layoffs, furloughs, or early retirement. Those who lost jobs included pilots, flight attendants, ground staff, and more. Many have also lost confidence, not wanting to return to an industry which might not offer security. Others may have altogether changed careers and thus, not inclined to return to aviation.  While there are processes or technological approaches which can ease some of the operational pain points to facilitate recovery, the industry cannot afford to be complacent.

Under more normal pre-pandemic circumstances, the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) noted the aviation industry provided 87.7 million jobs. These included jobs with airport operators, airlines, air navigation service providers, etc.  

Today, the aviation industry is scrambling to meet the high demand for a skilled workforce. Despite the proportionate recovery and increase in global passenger traffic, rebuilding the workforce and ensuring a pipeline of skilled workers has not been at the same pace.  

Boeing in 2023 forecasted the industry needing over 649,000 new pilots, 938,000 new cabin crew, and 690,000 new maintenance technicians to sustain the traffic growth in the coming 20 years. These 2.3 million jobs do not yet account for those working in air navigation services, airport operations, and other functions within the collective aviation ecosystem. Embracing one of Hong Kong International Aviation Academy’s (HKIAA) missions to nurture young talent and provide career advancement for the continuous development of Hong Kong’s aviation industry, three all-encompassing strategies are adopted at HKIAA. They include raising awareness, offering internships with job placements, and providing academic accreditation/ qualification opportunities for those interested and willing to advance their careers in the aviation industry.

Raising awareness for careers in the aviation industry

A variety of activities can be adopted to help raise awareness of career opportunities in the aviation industry. One major target audience is primary and secondary school-aged pupils within an airport’s vicinity and its surrounding communities. 

Nothing piques interest more effectively than school talks and onsite airport visits for students. To illustrate, HKIAA, in collaboration with local schools, has given a multitude of school visits or conducted field trips for students to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). Students are given a taste of airport operations, with visits to behind-the-scenes settings normally restricted to the travelling public. School talks and airport visits not only raise students’ awareness of career opportunities, but these activities also complement their learning process at school.

Apart from the academic school year, there is also opportunity to continue raising awareness to students during the summer holidays. One of the HKIAA’s highly popular programs is its Summer Day Camps. Depending on the area of interest, primary and secondary students could spend 2 or 3 days getting more in-depth exposure to a specific operation or function, visit the air traffic control tower, and hear from actual aircraft engineers, pilots, or air traffic control officers share career insights. Some students are even able to get hands-on experience on the HKIAA’s air traffic control or flight simulators.

More recently, HKIAA extended its awareness raising activities to Mainland China in partnership with aviation education institutions there. This enabled reciprocal learning opportunities and airport visits for students between Hong Kong and Tianjin. The vibrancy of each city’s aviation industries was highlighted, further affirming the benefits such exchange programs can bring about, not just for the aviation industry but also their respective economies.

Airport internships with job placements

Another effective strategy for engaging new people into the workforce is to provide hands-on experience via internships and job placements at partner airport companies.  The HKIAA has introduced this means for ease of entry into the industry as part of its diploma program in aviation operations for secondary school graduates or other young adults. 

The “Diploma in Aviation Operations” program integrates one month of structured classroom learning and twelve months of job placement. Students have the opportunity to obtain a recognized academic qualification, professional skillsets, practical experience, and a chance to earn income.  Job placements have covered the breadth of airport operations in aircraft engineering, ground handling services, ramp operation services, air cargo, airline catering, aviation security, or airport management.

Similar job placement opportunities were also extended and offered by HKIAA to students in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in China. With a population of over 86 million, the area is a rich resource for recruiting and upskilling new talent which the industry needs. Many of these GBA students receive permanent job offers in their new-found careers in aviation after completing the internship in Hong Kong, under the provision of the Hong Kong Government’s Labour Importation Scheme. This approach has proven to be a win-win-win approach, i.e., providing the industry with a supply of trained workforce, supporting Hong Kong to maintain its status as in international aviation hub while offering these young talents exciting career opportunities in aviation.

Accreditation and qualification opportunities for career advancement

Equally important to attracting new talent to the workforce is retention. The third strategy contributing to the pipeline of competent workforce in aviation includes providing accreditation/ qualification opportunities.  Similar to how companies provide career paths for their talents, academic study paths are also made available for those who have the desire and capacity to study to attain additional accreditation or qualifications. 

To illustrate, those who have attained diplomas can opt to continue working while studying part time, to progressively pursue professional diploma qualifications, a bachelor’s degree and even an Advanced Master of Air Transport Management, provided in collaboration with other tertiary education institutions and Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC), respectively.

The HKIAA is also a regulator-approved training organization with a breadth of internationally recognized and accredited courses and programs for working professionals needing to attain or renew various licenses or certifications.  These include pertinent air traffic controller training, Aviation English language proficiency and a 2023-launched cadet pilot program.

Human resource development is an issue which the industry will continually grapple with, post-pandemic notwithstanding. The industry can only stand to benefit from the aforementioned capacity building strategies as a start. While the lack of harmonized competencies in some aviation disciplines may compound the shortage of skilled aviation professionals, the recipe here is to continually engage the industry and tailor long term initiatives targeted at making a difference for the industry. Bridging the gap between supply and demand requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders to ensure developed plans support business growth and meet the industry’s specialized human resource needs.

About HKIAA

The Hong Kong International Aviation Academy (HKIAA) is Hong Kong’s first civil aviation academy. It was established in 2016 and is a member company of HKIA Services Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Airport Authority Hong Kong.

The HKIAA offers a diverse curriculum catering the training needs of professionals, industry newcomers and young people who would like to pursue their career in the aviation industry. In partnership with local and overseas education institutions, professional organizations and industry practitioners, the HKIAA delivers all levels of programs including aviation summer day camps, job placements, professional certificate and accredited courses.

The HKIAA is an ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS Platinum member/ Training Centre of Excellence and is the world’s second organization to have received an Airports Council International (ACI)-ICAO TPP-Airport dual recognition. The HKIAA is a Steering Committee member of ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS Program, an ACI Accredited Training Partner, and an IATA Authorized Training Centre. The HKIAA also holds membership with CANSO.