- new recruitment and engagement campaign will encourage the
next generation into aviation
- forms part of government strategy to create a more
sustainable, open and diverse aviation sector
- campaign will help deliver training, outreach schemes and
opportunities for anybody looking for a career in the industry
People across the country will be encouraged to kick-start a
rewarding and exciting career in the aviation sector as the
government launches a brand new recruitment campaign today (31
October 2022).
Generation Aviation is part of the government’s 22-point plan to support
aviation as it recovers from the pandemic and forms part of
the wider aviation strategy ‘Flightpath to the
future’. The recruitment campaign builds on £1.5 million
announced by the government over the summer to boost recruitment
into the sector.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the air transport and aerospace
sectors contributed at least £22 billion to gross domestic
product (GDP) each
year and provided at least 230,000 jobs across all regions of the
country directly. However, there are several challenges ahead,
from decarbonisation to changing travelling patterns following
the pandemic.
The new campaign will help to boost recruitment into the sector
by:
- raising awareness of aviation careers, such as through our
£700,000 Reach for the
Sky programme which will fund outreach programmes and events
to educate young people from all backgrounds on the opportunities
on offer in aviation
- signposting training, careers and opportunities to people
looking to enter or move up in the industry, including through
the relaunched Aviation Skills
Recruitment Platform (ASRP), which
have already received £600,000 in funding
- championing the sector to celebrate its successes and promote
it to a wider audience, including through the incumbent and new
aviation ambassadors
inspiring representatives of the aviation sector and its breadth
of opportunities
- driving research and data to articulate the issues facing the
sector and inform decision-making on its future resilience
For the sector to successfully adapt, it requires new skills and
a robust pool of talent across a wide range of Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
fields and other critical roles. This campaign will see
government and industry work together to build a workforce that
is open, diverse and accessible.
The campaign is being launched today at London’s Heathrow
Employment & Skills Academy, where in an opening address
Transport Minister Baroness Vere said:
The aim of Generation Aviation is quite simply, to build an
aviation workforce fit for the future – a future that can only be
realised by a new generation of aviation workers, from all
corners of the country, representing the rich diversity of modern
Britain.
This will be followed by several events over the coming days
aimed at students, those already in other careers looking to make
a future in aviation, and those already in the industry keen to
progress or seek new skills and roles. Tuesday will see webinars
and panels on how people can enter the industry through education
pathways. Wednesday will look at early career opportunities.
Thursday will look in more depth at life in the sector, and
Friday will focus on accessibility, diversity and inclusion.
Heathrow’s Learning and Inclusion Director Jason Knight said:
A successful aviation sector connects countries and continents.
It acts as the global gateway for leisure, commerce, and families
and is a central pillar for local communities and the national
economy.
Generation Aviation is a timely celebration of everything this
sector provides and the opportunities we can create through
career opportunities here. To support this, Heathrow has set two
major targets, creating 10,000 jobs and apprenticeships and
15,000 ‘experience of work days’ by 2030.
Marcus O’Shea from Aerobility said:
We change lives by providing anyone, with any disability with
access to the magic and wonder of flight. We do this because
taking the controls of an aircraft drives a focus on capability
and encourages our flyers to ask the question ‘If I can fly an
aeroplane, what else can I do?’
It is our mission to ensure as many people as possible can access
the benefits and opportunities provided by the aviation industry,
which is why we are delighted to announce the Equal Skies Charter
as part of the week’s activities. Equal Skies will work with the
aviation industry to increase accessibility and deliver a more
diverse workforce.
The week will conclude with an interview with Mike Miller-Smith
MBE, the CEO of
Aerobility, a charity helping people with disabilities get into
flying, led by DfT Director of Aviation, Ben Smith. The
government is working with Aerobility to help ensure the industry
is as accessible as possible, providing over £200,000 in funding
for the Virtual
Aerobility programme.
