The perception that business aviation struggles to recruit young talent was vividly challenged during the internship program that the Air Charter Association (ACA) staged earlier this month at London Biggin Hill Airport. During a week-long training schedule, a group of 15 college-age recruits got an inside track on the career options offered by charter operators and brokers, FBOs, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul providers.
Now in its second year, the program—according to ACA’s chief executive, Glenn Hogben—has already guided several interns into their first jobs in the industry. After their time at the airport, the candidates will begin a week’s placement with member companies of the industry group.
They are also expected to prepare a 10-minute presentation and a 1,200-word report on an aspect of the business. ACA will honor the best of these presentations during its annual awards evening, to be held in November.
Hogben and ACA training manager Julie Ellis provided instruction covering multiple topics, including safety-critical aspects of ground handling, airport operating restrictions, limitations such as air crew recurrency training, and cost factors for charter flights. One of the key lessons illuminated vividly how brokers and handling agents often have to think quickly to work around challenges associated with delivering the flexibility for which private aviation is so valued.
The interns visited multiple business aviation companies based at the London-area airport, including helicopter shuttle operator Castle Air, the Jetex FBO, aircraft broker Wallcourt Aviation, and Bombardier’s extensive MRO facility. They got some fascinating insights into the realities of private aviation, including the high levels of efficiency achieved in dispatching flights and even what happens to aircraft repossessed by lenders when their owners aren’t paying the bills.
Closing the Supply/Demand Gap
“We identified a gap between demand [for new industry professionals] and supply, and decided to try to make the right connections,” Hogben told AIN. “Air charter is a great profession because there are so many roles, including lawyers, accountants, operational specialists, and brokers. It’s hard for some of our member companies to make time for recruitment, so we’re helping them with the vetting process.”
More than 100 people applied for the program this year. A shortlisted group was invited to London as part of the selection process, or allowed to participate remotely for those outside the UK. Some of this year’s successful candidates came from Kazakhstan, Romania, Ireland, and Dubai, with ACA covering travel and accommodation costs for those chosen to participate.
“We doubled the pool of candidates this year, and we expect half of them to end up working in the industry,” Hogben explained. “We want it to be a tangible opportunity, so we provide some mentoring, plus we’re setting up a WhatsApp group for the interns to stay in contact, and we’re in talks with recruitment consultants to support the program.”
Meanwhile, privately-owned Biggin Hill Airport operates its own initiative to give young people the chance to connect with the industry. Through its Futures Week, the company hosts groups of 15- to 18-year-old local high school students for a week at a time during school breaks.
Several of those participating in previous years now work at the airport, including a senior ground handler and several apprentices at Bombardier. The airport has its own full-time ambassador engaging with local schools on science and technology topics. In some cases, young people have gravitated to other aviation opportunities, such as British Airways’ flight crew academy and the Royal Air Force.