In the business aviation industry we don;t get a chance to see often that jobs in this sector may be booming, but according to AIN, their may be a need to start thinking about gearing up for a boom in the pilot business and the maintenance business in the next 20 years.
According to Boeing, over the next 20 years there will be worldwide demand for 466,650 pilots and 596,500 maintenance personnel. A Boeing spokesman told AIN the demand for trained personnel is based on new and replacement aircraft sales projected in the company’s Current Market Outlook 2010-2029. “The world’s airlines are going to be hiring more than 23,000 pilots and 30,000 maintenance technicians annually through 2029,” he said. “Look to the Asia-Pacific area to account for the highest rate of growth: more than 180,000 pilots and 220,000 mechanics; 70,600 and 96,000+ will be by China alone.” The study listed a North American demand for 97,350 pilots and 137,000 maintenance workers, with Europe following closely at 94,800 and 122,000. Africa is projected to require 13,200 pilots and 15,000 mechanics, the Middle East 32,700 pilots and 44,500 maintenance personnel, Latin America 37,000 and 44,000, and the CIS will need 11,000 pilots and 14,000 maintenance personnel. “The challenge we face as an industry is to provide training on ever more sophisticated, technologically evolving equipment to an increasingly diverse worldwide population,” he said.
As it seems in most cases, China seems to be growing at a rapid pace and finds itself in a boom market for hiring employees. I am not sure of the numbers and what the amounts represent as it relates to the business, but the best news is those pilots must fly aircraft and for that many pilots to be in the air, we must assume that they will need aircraft built and sold for that purpose.