Jul
23
I suspect many of us over the years have had mixed experiences with companies that offer pilot recruitment services. We have seen these agencies cut a lucrative position for themselves by sitting between the employer and the pilot. This was particularly the case at one stage in the Middle East.
Additionally there has (in the UK at least) grown a mini industry that takes newly minted aviators and matches them (after a little training) to an airline. The airline is happy because it recruits a screened ‘product’ and doesn’t pay a lot for it, the agency makes a return from the individual in a form of tax from the pilot’s new salary.
Given that starting salaries are not spectacular and the additional training costs incurred add to their already cumbersome debt load, I wonder who this arrangement suits best and where the opportunity for exploitation lies?
We must not tar them all with the same brush but the whole idea leaves a bad taste in my mouth; the jobs were always going to be there anyway and someone pays for convenience – guess who. It is easy to see how the middle men floated to the surface and got their proposition swallowed. Though they probably take some finding, not all ‘Employment Executives’ wear pencil line mustaches, have sharp suits and speak far to quickly whilst leading you by the elbow to the contract. Caution and reading the small print is a valuable skill in aviation like everywhere else.
With the pilot job market tightening with recessional pressure the position of those who have invested in training can become precarious. The overall effect on the profession can hardly be positive as desperation forces the conditions of an ‘employment opportunity’ through the floor for the new arrival onto the flight deck. With employers cutting back on training and veterans retiring things will change with a vengeance when and if the market turns around as has happened in the past. The question remains… when?
How refreshing then to see the start of a fight back. A website where employers can post their opportunities and prospective employees can see what’s available and make their pitch. If this enterprising website can do the legwork and tug together the pieces of string that connect employers to prospective flight crew, they might just have us queuing up.
Perhaps adding value for the guys on each end of the string is the tough nut to crack as it introduces costs – but good luck! If you need a job… try;
