As much of the Aerospace & Aviation industry suffers urgent skills shortages and uncertainty during Brexit, many are worried about the future of the industry.
In 2016, there were more than 22,000 active commercial wide body and narrow body aircraft across the globe. International aircraft manufacturer Boeing’s latest research reveals that the global commercial aircraft fleet is forecast to increase 40%, from 25,000 in 2017 to over 35,000 by 2027. This global expansion will require, according to Boeing, an additional 560,000 pilots and 600,000 technicians by the early 2030s.
Aviation Experts predict that the global Aircraft Line Maintenance Market will grow at a CAGR of 5.5% by 2021. Single-aisle aircraft will be by far the most popular new aircraft manufactured in the coming years, as short-haul business trips and leisure flights become even more frequent, with 29,350 new airplanes expected to be built at a cost of $3.8 Billion before 2030. More than 41,000 aircraft will be built over the next decade, delivering a fleet growth of 3.7% and a market value of $6.5 Trillion.
Commercial aircraft expansion will stretch airport capacity even further: the busiest single-runway airport on Earth broke another world record with almost one flight every minute, and global airport capacity is set to reach maximum levels.
Mumbai airport has reached 94% of its maximum passenger handling capacity and will reach saturation point in late 2018, and airport systems worldwide including London airports will be almost entirely full by 2030. Air traffic growth will increase by 4.3% in the next ten years, meaning aircraft manufacturers will be at the forefront of Aviation innovation to solve fleet expansion problems. The recent Emirates order of the Airbus A380 looks to lend 10 years to airport capacity around the world. With their double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner, the Airbus A380 is the biggest passenger plane in the world and seats over 800 passengers. By seating more people per journey, aircraft manufacturers can design and build the planes that empower airlines to deliver high quality and consistent levels of service without facing extreme financial commitments.
The vast majority of the commercial aircraft fleet expansion will occur outside of the UK, meaning that growth in the MRO industry will be driven by international trade. In the next ten years, the UAE and Middle East will require 253,000 more pilots, 308,000 more air crew and 259,000 more maintenance staff.
With the largest share of the global aircraft line maintenance MRO market in 2016, Asia is an emerging region in the long-haul international market and relies heavily on small and medium wide-body aircraft. The rapidly increasing demand for air travel in Asia and South America will require an additional 22,000 aircraft in these geographical regions. The expanding Asia-Pacific region will need 230,000 pilots by 2030 and the global pilot shortage currently represents a market of $15Billion.
When coupled with Brexit, the geographical shift of the Aerospace & Aviation market means that Europe-based MROs may face increased labour costs, talent attraction struggles and battles over trading regulations when competing with the rest of the world in the next few years.
The global Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) sector faces a combination of increased demand and a reduction in technicians, confirming what most MROs and airlines already know: there is an urgent Aviation skills shortage. Global demand for Aviation skills is set to overtake supply by 2027, and 42% of industry leaders identify a shortage of maintenance technicians as the most urgent challenge in Aerospace & Aviation.
The age of MRO technicians has climbed to above-average levels, creating space for younger Aviation technicians to enter the workforce; however, Aviation is falling in popularity with students, meaning this gap is not being filled. If numbers of Aviation technicians continue to fall, the sector will face challenges of unprecedented proportions.The Aerospace & Aviation industry can attract more talent at graduate and entry levels by visiting schools and speaking about the benefits, not only of working for airlines and MROs but in being part of the incredible things that they do and the amazing experiences they create. Young people in schools are unaware of the breadth of Aviation careers all over the world – senior leaders can attract the young talent needed for the success of the aircraft line maintenance market by speaking directly to the next generation and showing them what they’re missing.
Looking for skilled technicians? Find out more about VHR’s Aerospace & Aviation recruitment services.
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