Jet Professionals offers an extensive portfolio of staffing solutions and other services that reflect the diverse nature of the global business aviation industry. A wholly owned subsidiary of aviation services provider Jet Aviation and headquartered in Teterboro, NJ, the company specializes in staffing services for flight crew members and technical personnel at all levels of the business aviation industry, including flight attendants, schedulers and dispatchers, and executive management.
“When you think of business aviation needs, you think of staffing – either direct placement, or supplemental crewing,” explained George Kythreotis, Vice President and General Manager of Jet Professionals. “We view it as investment in human capital.”
That level of involvement in the business aviation community also provides Kythreotis and his team with a first-hand perspective on the state of an industry in need of fresh talent to replace a large number of experienced pilots, support staff, and maintenance personnel nearing retirement.
“Our specialty is placements for pilot-in-command and second-in-command positions,” he added. “That represents half of our portfolio, with 25 percent in maintenance and the balance in other professions and executive positions within the industry.
“The highest demand is currently for high-level maintenance professionals,” Kythreotis continued. “There simply aren’t enough professionals out there to meet that need, and the situation will only get worse should AMTs (aircraft maintenance technicians) graduate and then opt for jobs outside the industry.”
Kythreotis came to Jet Professionals through parent company Jet Aviation, which he joined 15 years ago in the corporate human resources division. “I really had no knowledge of business aviation before then,” he admitted. “My background was in university relations and recruiting, but I quickly found that many of those lessons carried forward into this industry.”
Over his ten years in human resources with Jet Aviation, including five as HR director and five as vice president of HR, Kythreotis quickly gained experience and familiarity with the nuances of employee relations in the industry, and pilot recruitment. That included determining compensation for all levels of staffing and for crewing various types and sizes of business aircraft.
Terming himself a “strategic generalist,” Kythreotis also honed the company’s focus on leadership development and training for business aviation executives. He was named vice president and general manager for Jet Professionals in 2009.
Expanding Services to Meet Industry’s Evolving Needs
Over the past several years, Jet Professionals has expanded its services beyond supplemental staffing and placement to meet the increasingly varied needs of clients throughout North and South America, as well as Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
“Jet Professionals was already among the subject experts in this field, and we’ve taken it a step further by incorporating into payroll needs, as one example,” Kythreotis added, “and assisting smaller companies with health and welfare issues such as compliance with the Affordable Care Act.”
The company also added security staffing to its roster, including placement of required security personnel onboard flights to Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC as required by the DCA Access Standard Security Program (DASSP). Jet Professionals also offers personnel to companies seeking to supplement their own security on international flights to global hotspots.
Finding a Good Match
Today, Jet Professionals attracts talent with a significant amount of brand awareness in the industry, including through its connections to General Dynamics, the aerospace and defense conglomerate that owns Jet Aviation, and aircraft manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace. The company advertises that it maintains the industry’s largest managed database of applicants to fill temporary staffing positions within the worldwide business aviation industry, as well as long-term career placement and training opportunities.
When job seekers sign up for Jet Professionals’ services, Kythreotis noted they will discover a placement process goes far beyond simply assigning applicants – who may be amply qualified on paper – to a posted job listing. He added that the company employs a “myriad of different tools” to ensure both candidate and employer are good matches for one another.
“Our recruiters offer a combined 80 years of business aviation recruiting expertise,” he added. “In addition to bringing a high level of institutional knowledge to their positions, they also utilize three unique behavioral assessments to supplement their instincts. We consider the company’s location and business model, as well, and even conduct site visits to gauge the company’s culture.”
The company also conducts virtual interviews with job candidates, where they respond to a set of questions often asked by clients. A video recording of that interview accompanies the applicant’s file – “so that when a client calls Jet Professionals seeking candidates, we not only provide them with the folder, but also a pre-screened interview,” Kythreotis noted, terming that level of involvement a “business differentiator” for Jet Professionals, relative to its competitors.
“We ensure clients have a specific fit with employees, and vice-versa,” he added. “A flight department in Ohio may offer a very different environment than one in Washington.”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.