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Newsletter - September 2019

Overcoming Recruitment Challenges

The aviation industry faces an uphill task in attracting and keeping top talent in the coming years, not least in the ground handling sector.
Discover the career opportunities in Ground Handling here

We are facing a paradoxical situation in the ground handling industry. On the one hand, the industry is experiencing very impressive growth, with 76% of respondents to the 2018 IATA Human Resources Report expecting growth in ground operations over the next two years and 81% expecting growth over the next 10 years. On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain new talent.

We have made it a priority to help our members overcome these challenges. We believe it is crucial to first raise awareness of ground handling and the indispensable role it plays in aviation. By 2025 millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce, but how many millennials would mention independent ground handling when asked to describe the aviation sector? Our members have a great story to tell about the fantastic work done day-in and day-out by the men and women of the industry. We want to share this as widely as possible.

By using a variety of channels, we can communicate our attractive offer of a career in ground handling. Generally speaking, the top three channels candidates use to look for new opportunities are online job boards (60%), social professional networks (56%) and word of mouth (50%). Recruitment strategies should consider how job advertising can be adapted for each of these channels. This is an easy, but nevertheless powerful way of improving the recruitment process.

Of course, the issues of recruitment and particularly retention have much to do with hiring the right candidates. Across the globe, 69% of candidates want to know the role responsibilities first. When advertising for positions, our members should not be afraid to outline the specific demands of ground handling. Yes, the work done by ground handling staff might seem daunting to prospective employees. Working on the ramp is physically demanding and requires a significant degree of flexibility in terms of hours and working conditions.

But there are countless positive aspects to our work. Ground handling is a job in which no two days are the same, a job which brings together people from a range of different backgrounds and cultures to work together in a close-knit team, a job which constantly spurs you to grow with new techniques, technologies and training opportunities. And that’s not even mentioning the many benefits and opportunities for professional development. When deciding whether to accept a new job, 33% of candidates prioritise professional development. ASA will work with our members to optimise the job-search journey and ensure we hire the right candidates.

The ground handling industry has a very exciting future and ASA is committed to realising it by supporting our members with the recruitment and retention of talent.

Yours Sincerely,
Fabio Gamba

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