JSFirm says that more aviation jobs are available than anticipated. “Our original predictions were based on the results of our Annual Aviation Hiring Survey that we conduct each January,” says Jeff Richards. “There was a 47 percent increase in job advertisements for January, February, and March compared to last year, and the number of jobs advertised in the second quarter has already surpassed last year’s numbers by 30 percent. This is encouraging as we are only half way through this quarter.”
The survey indicated that the first and second quarters will see the most hiring. JSfirm.com reported their largest number of job advertisements ever in March and April of this year. “We are looking forward to the rest of the second quarter being just as busy” Richards says.
Results: Aviation Industry 2011 & 2012 Hiring Trends and Expectations
Q1 – Approximately how many people does your company employ?
Answer Responses Percent
1 – 10 122 18.05%
11 – 30 159 23.52%
31 – 50 82 12.13%
51 – 100 96 14.20%
101 – 200 72 10.65%
201 – 500 53 7.84%
501+ 92 13.61%
Q2 – How many jobs were cut from your company last year (2011)?
Answer Responses Percent
None 461 68.70%
1 – 5 123 18.33%
6 – 10 24 3.58%
11 – 20 18 2.68%
21 – 50 22 3.28%
51 – 100 11 1.64%
101 – 200 3 0.45%
201 + 9 1.34%
Q3 – How many people did your company hire in 2011?
Answer Responses Percent
None 77 11.48%
1 – 5 275 40.98%
6 – 10 77 11.48%
11 – 20 70 10.43%
21 – 50 54 8.05%
51 – 100 45 6.71%
101 – 200 26 3.87%
201+ 47 7.00%
Q4 – How many people will your company be hiring this year (2012)?
Answer Responses Percent
1 – 5 272 40.36%
6 – 10 67 9.94%
11 – 20 57 8.46%
21 – 50 61 9.05%
51 – 100 40 5.93%
101 – 200 34 5.04%
201+ 40 5.93%
Likely not hiring 103 15.28%
Q5 – When do you expect your company to hire?
Answer Responses Percent
1st Quarter 2012 (Jan – March) 316 27.08%
2nd Quarter 2012 (April – June) 349 29.91%
3rd Quarter 2012 (July – Sept) 207 17.74%
4th Quarter 2012 (Oct – Dec) 147 12.60%
N/A 148 12.68%
Q6 – What type of people will your company be hiring this year?
Answer Responses Percent
Avionics 204 9.69%
Maintenance 358 17.00%
Sheetmetal/Structures/Composites/Fabricators 154 7.31%
Interiors/Cabinetry/Upholstery 61 2.90%
Paint 51 2.42%
Quality Assurance 120 5.70%
Engineering 131 6.22%
Pilots 220 10.45%
Flight Attendants 31 1.47%
Dispatch 53 2.52%
Line Service 85 4.04%
Sales/Marketing/Business Development 104 4.94%
Social Media Manager 8 0.38%
Customer Service 100 4.75%
Administration 151 7.17%
Management 99 4.70%
N/A 95 4.51%
Other 81 3.85%
Q7 – What type of aircraft does your company primarily support?
Answer Responses Percent
Helicopter 266 23.94%
General aviation: single and light twin engine aircraft 238 21.42%
Corporate aircraft: Lear, Citation, Hawker, Gulfstream, etc. 272 24.48%
Commercial/Transport Category: wide body aircraft, transport, etc. 183 16.47%
Military: F-16, C130, V-22, etc. 89 8.01%
N/A 19 1.71%
Other 44 3.96%
Q8 – Which best describes the service your company provides?
Answer Responses Percent
Airport/FBO 106 11.04%
Maintenance Repair and Overhaul 293 30.52%
OEM 43 4.48%
Aircraft Operator 215 22.40%
Association 1 0.10%
Support Service such as insurance, software, data, etc 23 2.40%
School or Training Center 68 7.08%
Staffing/Recruiting 44 4.58%
Sales/Distribution/Lease 45 4.69%
Other 122 12.71%
Q9 – How much of your business supports the defense industry?
Answer Responses Percent
Less than 10% 476 72.89%
10 – 25% 75 11.49%
26 – 50% 31 4.75%
51 – 75% 32 4.90%
76 – 100% 39 5.97%
Q10 – What is the biggest challenge you have finding qualified aviation talent?
Answer Responses Percent
No problem 134 14.09%
Our location 151 15.88%
Finding effective resources 85 8.94%
Lack of experience 272 28.60%
Candidate pay expectations are too high 158 16.61%
Our company pay is below standard 41 4.31%
Lack of feedback from hiring managers 19 2.00%
No time to actually recruit 38 4.00%
Other 53 5.57%
Q11 – What resources do you use to find aviation specific talent?
Answer Responses Percent
Non aviation websites (monster.com, careerbuilder.com, etc.) 209 10.50%
Aviation specific websites (jsfirm.com, pilotjobs.com, avianation) 444 22.31%
Professional and Social Media (facebook, linkedIn, etc.) 145 7.29%
Aviation contract labor companies 97 4.87%
Aviation direct hire recruiting companies 62 3.12%
Aviation job fairs 98 4.92%
Local newspapers 134 6.73%
Industry magazines 76 3.82%
Aviation schools 160 8.04%
Paid referrals from internal employees 91 4.57%
Word of mouth 397 19.95%
Other 77 3.87%