The aviation jobs market is expected to remain strong in 2016, with more than three-quarters of respondents to the latest JSfirm surveys expecting moderate to significant growth. JSfirm, an online aviation job website, on March 1 released the results of its annual hiring trends survey, which involved the participation of 448 aviation companies across various industry sectors. “It’s no surprise to us that aviation professionals are in high demand,” said Jeff Richards, operations manager for JSfirm (Booth 8940). “Regarding the number of job postings, JSfirm.com experienced our best January ever.”
The survey found that nearly 88.76 percent of the respondents hired workers in 2015. While 41.57 percent of the respondents hired a handful or less, 23 companies said they brought on board more than 200 people. The numbers are almost as strong this year, with 84.94 reporting plans to hire in 2016 and 19 companies planning to hire more than 200 employees. Similar to 2015, 42.25 percent of the respondents said they would hire between one and five individuals this year.
More than 250 companies expect to hire in the second quarter, the highest number of any quarter, while another 203 companies anticipated hiring in the first quarter. Maintenance professionals appear to be in the highest demand with 252 companies expecting to hire in this area. Meanwhile, 194 companies indicated plans to hire pilots, the second most frequent response. Flight attendant positions ranked last among the listed aviation roles, with 18 companies indicating plans to hire.
Lack of experience was the most frequently cited challenge in finding qualified aviation talent (28.9 percent of respondents), followed by candidate pay expectations that are too high (18.59 percent).
The respondents represented a cross-section of the industry, with 21.42 percent involved with rotorcraft.