Although working in aviation has an indisputable charm and romance that few fields can boast of, and salaries here are high, companies working in this sector are constantly short of workers. Žilvinas Lapinskas, manager of aircraft maintenance and repair service provider FL Technics, estimates that the company is constantly looking for at least 100-130 specialists worldwide.
In order to improve its ability to attract the necessary talent and specialists, FL Technics even decided to overcome a long and complex certification process and became the first operating in the aviation sector to receive the prestigious TOP Employer certificate. In total, only 11 companies in Lithuania have this certificate.
Ž. According to Lapinskas, this evaluation will help the company to implement the most advanced human resources management practices more quickly and will make it possible to fight for employees even more effectively in the labor market.
Huge competition for employees
"Currently, there is a shortage of specialists in various fields. Especially for young aircraft mechanics starting their careers. However, it is precisely such specialists that are currently lacking the most. Of course, this requires relevant education and certificates, but after reaching a certain level, the salary also reaches a certain level - 2-500 euros. The salaries of experienced engineers, whom we are also actively looking for, can reach 3-000 euros", asserts the head of FL Technics.
Apparently, you can't really complain about working conditions. Where does this lack come from then? According to the interviewee, when the specialist market is as shallow as in Lithuania, there is naturally a huge competition between companies that want to hire them. The struggle for workers begins while they are still learning.
"Here is a good example - we initiated a project with Vilnius Tech University and offered scholarships to the best students. Our example was quickly followed by other companies. This is the current situation - the competition is constantly getting stronger. Nevertheless, supporting and educating young people has been and will be one of our most important strategic goals", Ž. described the market situation. Lapinska.
The only thing that makes the situation easier is the fact that they are working on long-term projects, so selections start in advance. The company recently won a competition announced by the SAS company in Norway. This project alone will require about 50 people, and although the real work will begin in six months, the process of recruiting a team is already underway.
"Aviation is, for understandable reasons, a very strictly regulated area. In order to be able to work on one or another project, you need an appropriate certificate. If we find a person with the right competencies and the desire to improve, we will always help him improve his qualifications. In such cases, we hire him for a specific position and spend several months training him. Such an offer is very suitable for specialists, because people who think about their future understand - the more certificates they have, the more opportunities open up", explains the interviewer.
The reasons for the lack of workers are twofold
No matter how good the conditions are offered by aviation companies, it seems that the problem of shortage of workers will remain relevant for at least the next few years. Ž. Lapinskas singles out two fundamental reasons for this. First of all, young people are less interested in engineering and technical specialties. They prefer to learn programming or marketing. Not even higher salaries or career prospects change opinions. The number of students studying aviation majors has fallen by about a third over the past decade, according to the head of FL Technics.
Even people who could apply for jobs requiring lower qualifications prefer to be couriers and drivers, because they are attracted by the flexibility of the schedule. However, the interviewer invites you to think about the long-term perspective - aviation offers enormous opportunities for growth and climbing the career ladder, and a courier will still be just a courier receiving the same standard remuneration in five years.
The pandemic that has shaken the world is the second reason for the shortage of workers in the aviation industry. During it, the companies had to give up a lot of specialists, because the flights were almost non-operating. So people who were close to retirement either went to it themselves or were offered to do so.
"After the end of the pandemic, many of those who left the labor market never returned, and the younger generation did not have time to grow up yet. The number of flights shot into space, the demand is high, the old generation is gone, and the new generation is not yet there. We have a hole that will take 4-5 years to fill," said Ž. Lapinska.
Positions in which Lithuanians cannot be replaced
According to the interviewee, the "TOP Employer" certificate brings benefits already. The certification process itself was very helpful. During it, the company had to answer approximately 300 questions. Just by analyzing them, it was possible to see where improvements or updates were needed. One such area is increasing inclusion. For example, there are relatively few women in the aviation industry, even though they can be the best mechanics.
"Another aspect is the inclusion of the disabled. Filling out the questionnaire was an opportunity for us to see that we can do much more here. For example, a significant part of engineering work can be done by computer - a person with a physical disability copes with such work without any problems, so we strive to adapt workplaces even better for them", says the head of FL Technics.
According to him, the competition for aviation specialists is fiercest in Europe and JAV. It is a bit easier to find specialists in Asia or the United Arab Emirates. Therefore, these markets can become at least a partial answer to the issue of the lack of workers.
"We find the Indonesian market very intriguing. In it, almost 280 million population, and companies with the "TOP Employer" badge - less than ten. And these are the most solid and largest Western companies. Now we are among them, so we can compete more effectively for the best local specialists", is confident Ž. Lapinska.
True, he emphasizes that there is another big problem - it is difficult to find middle and top managers. In other words, finding labor is very easy, but decision-making is much more difficult. According to the head of FL Technics, Lithuanians are truly irreplaceable in such positions.
This statement is illustrated by the company's statistics - even 90 percent. FL Technics' management professionals are long-term employees of the company who have successfully climbed the career ladder.
