2020, A year in review with our partners at Aviation Job Search

Aviation job website, Aviation Job Search , has released its Year in Review for 2020,

producing findings around the impact of Covid-19 on the industry. The report specifically

details how the global pandemic has affected employment within the sector.

From an anonymous interview with 384 aviation professionals in October 2020, a staggering

48% were unemployed and a further 11% were furloughed or part furloughed. Only 32%

were in current employment.

One jobseeker said, “I feel let down by my trade union, and by the company I worked for.

They didn’t explore all options before making hundreds of us redundant.”

Key findings also revealed how 89% of professionals were worried about their future in

aviation.

The review also looked into the challenges of searching for a job during a global pandemic

and how priorities had changed as a result of the events in 2020.

The monthly average number of jobs posted to Aviation Job Search in 2020 was 1,051, a

53% decrease from 2019. With less jobs available, jobseekers don’t have the luxury to be

picky when applying for jobs.

From a different interview of 2,489 aviation professionals in December 2020, 56% claimed

their priorities had changed. The top three reasons as to why include the instability of

contract work, the lowering of salary expectations and the consideration to taking work

outside of the aviation industry.

If you would like to read the full Year in Review, you can download it here.

What’s going on in the industry?

Let’s talk Brexit, EASA licences, COVID-19 recovery and MPL support

There’s no disputing 2020 came at us from all angles. With COVID and Brexit combined things have been tough for the industry this past year but it’s not all doom and gloom. A Brexit deal and the vaccine have injected some fresh hope and 2021 has kicked off with things seeming a bit more positive than they did previously. But what exactly has been said and how does this affect you?

Brexit and EASA Licences

For lots of us Brexit has meant having to consider converting to an EASA licence, with some airlines even saying they wouldn’t consider candidates with UK CAA licences. The effects of COVID have meant many authorities are in lockdown and have been unable to meet the demand for transferring licences by 1^st January 2021 and so the CAA have issued an extension. EASA licences must now be issued before 31^st March 2021 if you wish to transfer your licence away from the UK CAA. You can read the CAA publication on this matter here.

Alongside this announcement the CAA issued a validation form, which you can find here. This form allows the use of EASA licences on UK G-registered aircraft. Flight crew carrying a non-UK CAA licence who wish to operate a UK-registered aircraft must carry a general validation form with their licence at all times under ICAO rules. This form is valid for two years under UK law.

If you wish to discover more about the changes being made due to Brexit the UK CAA have a YouTube channel.

COVID-19 Recovery

It’s all anyone has talked about for almost a year now.  Thousands of pilots have lost their jobs and the industry is in turmoil, but will it stay like this? After BALPA’s controversial announcement many industry professionals were unhappy, with the heads of four competing ATOs (FTA Global, FTEJerez, Skyborne Airline Academy and VA Airline Training) uniting to issue a statement in support of the pilot training industry in retaliation.

No one knows for sure how long a recovery will take but with companies such as Ryanair already looking to recruit it may be sooner than anticipated. In contrast to the advice given by BALPA, CAE released an article predicting the industry will require 27,000 new pilots from the end of 2021 due to uncontrollable factors such as retirements.

“Fundamental factors influencing pilot demand prior to the Covid-19 outbreak remain unchanged. Age-based retirement and fleet growth were, and are expected to remain, the main drivers of pilot demand.”

It’s important to remain positive in the current situation and if you have found yourself out of work try to do what you can to stay connected. If you’re looking to renew or revalidate licences Aviation Insider offers a variety of support from online training material and simulator sessions to Jobcentre help.

Aviation Insider was one of the first aviation-approved suppliers to the Jobcentre helping hundreds of pilots over the last few months with the application. The funding is a discretionary award and each case is looked at individually. 

For those people who are also struggling with the mental challenges of the pandemic, Aviation Insider have recently announced a partnership with several leading mental health and wellbeing companies, in an attempt to offer our support.

MPL Support

The MPL is a fairly new concept in the world of aviation but before the pandemic hit, many viewed it as the ultimate training route. Tagged from the beginning of your training, the MPL offers cadets the opportunity to spend more time in the simulator learning company SOPs and MCC skills.

Unfortunately the structure of the MPL route left no room for flexibility and many students have lost their tags and been left facing £65,000 additional fees to convert to CPL licences. However, after months of stress and worry there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. It has been agreed that MPL cadets who are unable to complete base training will have the option to apply for a MPL licence with type rating privileges restricted to “Cruise Relief Co-Pilot”.

This announcement I’m sure will come as a huge relief to many, whom until now have had to consider giving up their dreams entirely due to the astronomical expenses associated with retraining.

It now looks as though the MPL is set to stay, with suggestions of “white-tail” MPLs in the future. Catch up on what was said about the MPL at Pilot Careers Live here.

We wish you all a happy and healthy 2021 and look forward to seeing breaks in the clouds as the industry takes off once more!

If you wish for any further advice on the information covered in this article please do not hesitate to contact us at admin@aviationinsider.com.

Number 1 aircrew Accommodation website

Hi all,

I’m Sam, the creator and manager of AirCrewAccommodation.com and I’m here to tell you a little about the website and how it can help you if you’re aircrew or airport staff looking for accommodation or have a room/property to rent out.

The purpose of our website is to help aircrew find suitable short or long-term accommodation near their base airport whilst also giving landlords/sub letters a platform to advertise their suitable rooms on. The site gives you the option of either advertising a room for rent or you can just browse available rooms. If you’re short on time you can “create a profile” and tag yourself to the base you’re looking for. By doing that it allows people with rooms to rent around that base to find you and get in touch to see if you’re interested.

I came up with the idea of the website last year when moving base and wanting to find either a house share with other crew or a room to move into near the airport where my odd working hours would be respected and understood, but also have housemates there to hang out with on days off when most people are at work. Lots of these rooms existed but the avenues to find them were scattered all over the place; forums, facebook pages, spareroom.com, crew room notice boards etc but no single ‘go to’ place for this, so I got to work creating one.

Since then the website has seen rapid growth! With 500+ tenants/landlords signed up to the site, 140+ rooms and more being uploaded every single day, there is a huge variety to choose from.

The site is completely free for all to use and the aim will be to keep it this way. We rely mainly on word of mouth as the main form of expansion and the more people that know about the site the better it will become! So please go check it out – www.aircrewaccommdation.com – If you like what you see then please spread the word!

Thank you!

Sam