Aerospace boom fuels job growth

Aerospace players optimistic of growth; headcounts to go up

BY A CORRESPONDENT
February 1, 2006

The global aviation boom has triggered an employment boom. The majority of global aerospace players plan to increase headcount over the 12 months, and no one has a plan to downsize, finds the latest Flight International-PriceWaterhouse Coopers survey on aerospace trends. The survey was conducted among the top players in the global aerospace industry. The rate at which order books and air travel are rising have contributed significantly to the optimism in the industry, the survey found.

In fact, many aerospace industry firms are no longer worried about getting orders. The companies are more concerned about meeting the surging demand. Said Neil Hampson, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers: “People are still happy with how things are going, but there comes a point when they cannot continue to say they are getting more confident. As long as the number does not become a net negative, then it remains good.”

Flight International finds that though the aviation industry has been on an ascendant since 2003, it takes time for the boom to filter down so that jobs are added. Now, the jobless recovery has changed an employment boom. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the aerospace players' willingness to recruit signals a sustained recovery ahead, since corporates are not usually comfortable with increasing staff, unless they are confident of sustained growth.

According to Hampson, a certain level of industry consolidation, especially at the lower tiers, is necessary so that confidence levels in the industry do not go down. He says that there are still bottlenecks in the supply chain and inefficiencies in the industry have not completely disappeared after the earlier downturn.

The Flight International-PricewaterhouseCoopers Aerospace Trends Survey questions the same 40 aerospace firms every quarter. Of them, 18 are from Europe, 17 from North America and five from the rest of the world.
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