The Next Generation of
Aviation Professionals
- FEB 06, 2017
In 2016 the total number of passengers carried on
scheduled air services reached 3.7 billion, which was a 6
per cent increase over 2015. While the numbers are
positive, this growth comes with a challenge – making sure
there are enough trained pilots, air traffic controllers,
engineers and aircraft maintenance specialists to sustain
industry demands.
In this decade the industry will recruit 480,000 new
technicians to maintain aircraft and over 350,000 pilots to
fly them. According to Boeing’s Long Term Market Current
Market Forecast 2015-2043, over one million new pilots and
technicians will be needed by 2034.
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We have to take steps to ensure there are enough qualified
and competent aviation professionals who can operate,
manage and maintain the future international air transport
system. This is critical, given that a large contingent of the
current generation of aviation professionals will soon retire,
access to affordable training and education is increasingly
problematic, and aviation competes with other industry
sectors for highly-skilled professionals. The lack of
harmonized competencies in some aviation disciplines and
a lack of awareness by the “next generation” of the types of
aviation jobs available, further compounds the problem.
The shortage of aviation professionals can be attributed to
some of these factors:
• retirements of the current generation of aviation
professionals;
• aviation professions are not attractive enough to
potential candidates;
• competition with other industry sectors for skilled
employees;
• training capacity insufficient to meet demand;
• learning methodologies not responsive to new evolving
learning style; accessibility to affordable training;
• lack of harmonization of competencies in some aviation
disciplines; and
• little awareness by the “next generation” of types of
aviation professions available.
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In 2009, under the Next Generation of Aviation
Professionals (NGAP) initiative, ICAO began working with
several States and industry partners to address the forecast
shortage of aviation professionals. NGAP was launched to
create a platform where stakeholders could work together
to bring greater awareness of the impending shortages of
personnel, to forecast global and regional personnel needs,
and to assist the aviation community as a whole, in
attracting, educating and retaining the next generation of
aviation professionals.
ICAO confirmed the critical need for this work when it
elevated the NGAP initiative as an ICAO priority
Programme and incorporated it in revised Global Plans,
both for safety and air navigation, as well as the new ICAO
Business Plan.
NGAP’s Vision is to ensure the world’s aviation community
has sufficient, competent human resources to support a
safe, secure and sustainable air transportation system.
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Our Mission is to develop strategies and the best practices,
tools, standards and guidelines needed to facilitate
information sharing activities that assist the global aviation
community in attracting, educating, and retaining the next
generation of aviation professionals.
For the NGAP Programme to be successful in achieving
these goals, we need to work closely with States,
international organizations, industry and academia to
continue raising awareness on the importance of effective
human resources planning and development and gender
equality, and we need to ensure a sufficient numbers of
skilled aviation professionals will be available in the future
to meet the industry’s projected needs.
ICAO will continue to be involved in events that support the
next generation of aviation professionals and we are also
pleased to be supporting the Dreams Soar Initiative, which
is helping to promote both women and youth in aviation.
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Young Captain Shaesta Waiz, the first civilian female pilot
from Afghanistan, is seeking to empower women around
the globe in the Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math (STEM) fields, as she makes her historic solo flight
around the world in 2017. Along the route, Capt. Waiz will
team with inspiring women, and together they will host
outreach events focused on careers in STEM fields to
encourage women worldwide to believe in themselves and
to set important life-changing goals.
Initiatives like these are invaluable in attracting the next
generation of aviation professionals. As we continue to
work with our partners, our goal is to expand participation
and involvement in projects, activities and events to engage
and excite the next generation and ensure they benefit from
the opportunities that will exist for them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michiel Vreedenburgh is the Chief of Aviation Safety Implementation Planning and
Support in the Air Navigation Bureau at ICAO Headquarters in Montreal, and has
nearly 30 years of international professional experience in aviation.
