The aviation industry may have been dealt a hard blow over the last couple of years, but it’s a testament to the resiliency of the sector that it’s recovering at speed and almost back to pre-Covid times. However, those who maintain the aircraft are dealing with a skills shortage at the moment, with demand outstripping supply. What caused this, and what can be done about it?
A pandemic effect
Covid-19 brought significant disruption in the aviation labour market, says Marina Efthymiou, associate professor in Aviation Management and programme director for the postgraduate aviation programmes, DCU. “A widely noted example is that of airport ground operations staff. The aircraft maintenance industry also faced significant disruptions. Several engineers moved to different industries, and people left with early retirement, yet the need for aircraft maintenance remained high. There is, therefore, a significant need for experienced maintenance technicians and engineers.”
More importantly, she says, there is a need to create a pipeline that will sufficiently respond to short-term and long-terms demands at local and global levels. “We should not ignore that we may still have MRO [maintenance, repair and operations] experts moving to a different country or even continent, and retaining talent should be a priority.”
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Challenging times
Seamus Mungovan, maintenance manager at Vortex Aviation, says while the industry is booming, there aren’t enough people to do the work. “Demand has outstripped supply. It’s gone from ‘wind down’ to ‘we haven’t got enough planes, let’s get going again’. We find our customer base is screaming to get things done. It’s ramping up at a rate that’s hard to match.” He says that it’s putting huge pressure on the sector. “You do fulfil your targets, but there is huge pressure.”
He agrees that the pandemic had a particularly negative effect on the maintenance industry, with many people switching careers as a result, leading to a shortage of already qualified and experienced talent.
“There is a definite skills shortage, and we are working hard to resolve this by implementing a range of measures across the group and ramping up recruitment,” says Michael Malewski, chief executive of Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon (Irish subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG). “Because the pandemic impacted the aviation sector so dramatically, it might no longer be seen as a secure career; however, nothing could be further from the truth.
A look ahead to 2023
“Aircraft will always require maintenance, and while investment declined during the Covid crisis, the recovery has been sharp and speedy.”
There are other industries that are looking for aviation talent, such as pharma and tech, which are much better paid, says Mungovan. “A lot of people have resigned from aviation and gone to pharma, which pays a lot more than aviation. The wages that are normal to aviation maintenance are completely out of line with pharma and tech.”
Shoring up the skills shortage
Attracting talent from abroad while not significantly increasing the salaries for MRO experts – in a country with high taxes and cost of living and also a disgraceful housing crisis – is not easy, says Efthymiou. “Moreover, it is imperative that we provide apprenticeships and also apprenticeships that embrace diversity to create a pool of MRO expertise. We have already seen some very positive steps from the industry, like Dublin Airspace.
“Finally, there needs to be better co-ordination between the Government, the industry and educational institutions about this.”
To address the skills shortage issue, across a wide range of industries, the Government and government agencies need to put a spotlight once again on apprenticeship programmes, says Malewski. “In Ireland, the focus is very much on university education, and this has happened at the expense of apprenticeships; in addition to aviation, there is a recognised skills shortage across trades such as electricians and plumbers.
“In some European markets there is a much greater emphasis on apprenticeship programmes, whereby apprentices can be hired and further trained in specialist areas. This approach works really well, and I believe that Ireland needs to take a similar approach and increase its focus on apprenticeships if it is to solve the skills shortage in aviation and other professions.
“A degree education is fantastic, but a trade with further training will take you anywhere.”