Over the past two years, business aviation has experienced acute workforce challenges, as pandemic-induced economic impacts have whipsawed the industry. Fortunately, in recent months an increasing number of people have begun flying regularly again, and business aviation has rebounded in a big way. However, the surging demand for safe, secure on-demand air transportation has created an unprecedented need for business aviation talent.
NBAA continues to help the industry respond to this challenge in numerous ways, working with stakeholders to retain current business aviation professionals, while nurturing the young people who will become tomorrow’s industry leaders.
The association provides several tools to enhance recruitment and retention efforts. For example, we have added diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) content to the NBAA Management Guide and will collect DE&I data as part of the 2022 NBAA Compensation Survey. The NBAA Mentoring Network continues to expand substantially, and NBAA’s Internship/Externship Guide has recently been updated.
Meanwhile, NBAA’s Young Professionals in Business Aviation (YoPro) group, which was founded in 2014, continues to build relationships among emerging industry leaders. The YoPro newsletter now has 3,900 subscribers, and the latest cohort of the dynamic individuals in NBAA’s annual Business Aviation Top 40 Under 40 was profiled in the Nov/Dec 2021 edition of this magazine.
NBAA also has been working with government officials to address workforce challenges. The association supports the Promoting Service in Transportation Act, which directs the Department of Transportation to establish an outreach program to increase awareness of transportation career opportunities. NBAA also is participating in the FAA’s Women in Aviation Advisory Board and Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force.
NBAA is reaching out to students, women and underrepresented groups broadly, promoting the advantages of business aviation careers. One recent effort was Collegiate Connect Day at the 2021 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, during which dozens of students heard from two congressional aviation advocates: U.S. House Reps. Dina Titus (D-1-NV) and Sam Graves (R-6-MO). During the event, students also received copies of Business Aviation Insider’s Student Edition and networked with young professionals from numerous companies.
In fact, all of NBAA’s communications platforms continue to cover a variety of workforce topics. For instance, this edition of the magazine explores several specific subjects in detail, including how employers can adapt personnel policies to support employees’ caregiving needs and how firms can apply DE&I principles to the recruitment process.
NBAA is committed to retaining existing business aviation professionals and attracting new ones. If we can continue to work together to build the workforce, the future of our community is indeed bright.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.