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Contents THREE PROBLEMS GROUND STAFF 4 PILOT SHORTAGE 5 THE WANNNABE’S 7 UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL 10 WHATS IN IT FOR THE AIRLINE? 11 WHAT DOES THE CADET GET FROM IT? 12
ONE SOLUTION THREE PROBLEMS Predicted Pilot Shortage Retention of Ground Sta Financial Barriers
The problem of recruitment and retention of skilled operational sta such as ops control-lers, dispatchers, crewing, technical support, ight planning and ight set up can often be overlooked. These roles are essential in any airline, and nding and then retaining these sta can be challenging. Many people who embark on these roles are looking to pro-gress their careers beyond their current posi-tion. It is not unusual to see the same faces RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF SKILLED GROUND STAFF working for dierent airlines as they seek ca-reer progression. To replace them is costly and time consuming. From the initial recruit-ment drive to having an eective sta mem-ber in position takes up a lot of management and training resource, and will typically take around 6 months. The period between the sta member leaving and their replacement being eective in role can often put further strain on the department and in turn the op-eration.
ONGOING PILOT SHORTAGE As the global aviation industry slowly woke up with the impact of the COVID pandemic sub-siding, the industry is now matching and in-deed surpassing pre pandemic levels. North America and Europe saw recovery to almost pre-pandemic levels in 2022 with 2023 pre-dicted to exceed 2019 passenger numbers. This is evidence of the resilience of the avia-tion industry in general. The industry has sur-vived various crises since WWII such as re-gional wars, economic and oil shocks, 9/11, volcanic ash clouds and most recently the COVID pandemic. Nevertheless, its long-term trend is still on a growth trajectory.
During the Covid pandemic many airlines oered generous early retirement packages to its senior pilots. This has moved forward the anticipated wave of pilot retirements across the globe. These early retirements have exacerbated the predicted pilot shortage. Moreover, some pilots who were retrenched have decided to leave the industry totally. These pilot loss-es, when set against a backdrop of continuous growth in the industry and the nancial barri-ers for budding pilots to reach the licencing requirements airlines seek, simply accelerate an already stressed situation. Many senior pilots are also increas-ingly seeking more exible working patterns with many opting for part time roles that puts further pressure on an already lean supply. During 2020 and 2021 the pilot shortage was masked by the dramatic fall in demand due to the pandemic. That mask has now been removed and the problem is back. CAE, the world’s largest ight simulator and pilot training net-work, forecasted in its 2020 Pilot Outlook that the world would need over 250,000 new pilots for the ten-year period from 2020 till 2030, Up to 50,000 of these in Europe. Airlines are already beginning to feel the eects with the situation forecast to be-come more acute in the coming years. In a recent study by Oliver Wyman 83% of regional carriers and 22% of low-cost carriers are already struggling to recruit enough pilots.
The classic question asked to most children is ‘what do you want to do when you grow up?” “I wannabe a pilot” comes the answer from many a budding aviator. At this stage it is simply a dream, an aspiration, a goal. There are hurdles and barriers to entry to consider, which at this stage are all in the future. These include aca-demic ability, physical tness, attitude and an overwhelming desire to succeed. There are many potential pilots out there that either have or can tackle all of these hurdles and be suitable for commencement of training. There are many compelling reasons for someone to choose a career in ying. Despite many changes in the industry over the years, being a pilot still carries a certain kudos with it. It oers travel and adventure, a decent work life balance, the nancial rewards once established are certainly appealing, a huge sense of achieve-ment and a professional respect amongst piers. Getting paid to do something you love is an aspi-ration we all understand. With so many young adults dreaming of being a pilot who have the ability to overcome the hurdles to get to the stage where they are willing and able to embark on this career path, and plenty of va-cancies now and in the future, why do so many not pursue their dream? Why are so many vacan-cies going unlled? THE WANNABE’S
With scholarships and sponsorships very rare across the world for training ab-initio pilots, it largely falls to the candidate to fund this train-ing... it’s not cheap. An intensive integrated course from zero to airline ready with the main-stream training academies will cost around £120,000. There is often a conditional job oer following that training but by no means guaran-teed. This is typically achieved in around two years. This gure excludes any living costs with the candidate unable to take employment for the duration of the training due to the full-time na-ture of the course. The overall cost then rises to approaching £150,000. Alternatively, a candidate may choose to follow the modular route and pursue their training in-dividually and at a pace often dictated by avail-ability of funds. Although a cheaper option, coming in the region of £75,000, around half that of the integrated course, it will take any-thing from three to ve years to achieve airline ready status and requires the candidate to plan all of their own training and navigate the com-plexities of the regulatory framework which can often lead to expensive mistakes and lacks the structure that the integrated course oers. In turn this is less attractive to the airline recruit-ers. THE MAIN BARRIER TO ENTRY
With a myriad of training organisations available for the various modules, the nal training report is often a patchwork of dierent providers which can lack the con-tinuity and assurance of standards airline recruiters look for. The main advantage of the modular route is the candidate can take on conventional employment to earn the money to fund or part fund the training and structure their schedule around work com-mitments and nancial ability. The main jeopardy being that should funds run out during the training, any achieve-ments of past training are essentially val-ueless unless training is completed. Many candidates will look to family to either fully fund or part fund their training costs. For those lucky enough to have family willing and able to fund this training they have the choice of what training route to pursue. Those less fortunate are essentially locked out of their dream career. Not on ability, attitude or commitment, but simply because they are una-ble to overcome the nancial barriers of entry. Unlike many other comparable professions, there are no government backed student loan schemes or apprenticeships to assist with cost burden of training.
UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL The principal objective of the Viridis Pilot Path-way is simple. Overcome the nancial barrier of entry for the less fortunate wannabes who don’t have access to the funding to embark on high quality pilot training. Turning Wannabes into Gonnabes. By placing selected candidates in employment across the industry in various ground based roles, they will not only be able to fund their pilot training through the scheme, but will also gain a broad understanding of the industry, with transferable skills and knowledge relevant to the pilot profession. Being emersed in the airline environment, they will be surrounded by other aviation professionals, including pilots which will aid their training progression and give them an understanding of other aspects of the industry that many pilots don’t have. Earn as you learn - The successful candidates can look forward to not only completing their pilot training within three years, and gain invaluable experience within the industry, but they will also earn a salary whilst completing their training keeping external funding to a minimum.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE AIRLINE? By placing candidates in crucial ground roles the airline can be assured of standards, com-mitment and dedication to the role over a prescribed three year period. There is the added benet of robust succession planning by knowing the candidate will be in the role for a pre-determined period. At the end of the three years the airline will have a candidate holding a frozen-ATPL ready to sit in the right-hand seat. Again, this links back to robust succession planning. Candidates training will be funded by the reduced salary, meaning no extra cost to the airline for these key positions. Viridis Aviation can ease the burden on airline’s HR teams by pre-screening suitable candi-dates coming directly from the Viridis Hold Pool, all of whom will have attended and passed the Viridis assessment and selection process and completed our Operations Foundation course. Overall – this means more stability for the airline, knowing they have ight deck and ground positions fullled by driven candidates keen to succeed – we call them Captains-in-waiting, Once established, this can create a conveyer belt system ensuring a continuous supply of talent, for both ground roles and ight deck positions, minimising nancial and operational risk.
Candidates enrolled on Viridis Pilot Pathway are provided with a methodical and structured approach to commercial pilot training, based on the modular system but with integrated values. They will be mentored and supported by one of our established aviation professionals, all of whom are commercial pilots. The Pilot Pathway provides the candidate with all the tools necessary to achieve the highest possible standards. Candidates are placed in full-time employment in roles within the aviation industry – namely opera-tions, dispatch, ramp etc. – allowing the candidate to earn as they learn. But more than this – the can-didate is emersed in the aviation environment from day one, allowing them to understand other as-pects of the industry. They will also learn and develop new skills that are transferrable to the ight deck – communication, situational awareness and decision making – just to name a few. This all leads to a better-rounded candidate who understands the big picture and understands their companies’ ethos – re-ducing risk of failure during subsequent pilot employ-ment. WHAT DOES THE CADET GET FROM IT?
Within the last twelve months, three ATOs have ceased trading, and this has meant pilots that paid up front for their training have lost a signicant amount of money. Pilot training is a huge nancial risk. Most ATOs – integrated and modular – require a pre-payment. The Viridis Pilot Pathway miti-gates these risks by ensuring full-time employ-ment whilst training, a signed training contract between the candidate and employer, and eectively paying-as-you-go. The cost of training charged by the ATO is paid directly by Viridis Aviation, only after the training has taken place, therefore signicantly reducing that risk. The candidate will complete the Pilot Pathway in three years with a frozen-ATPL with sound pro-fessional experience in the industry, engrossed in their company values rounded o with develop-ment of key skills - which makes them a superb candidate for First Ocer and career progression thereafter. Contact Us send