The demand for pilots shows no sign of easing according to the latest 20-year forecast. A total of 804,000 new commercial aviation pilots will be needed, says the 2019 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook, a respected industry forecast.
Boeing says the demand will be led by the Asia Pacific region with a requirement for 266,000 new pilots. North America will require 212,000, Europe 148,000, the Middle East 68,000, Latin America 54,000, Africa 29,000 and Russia/Central Asia 27,000.
“The demand will stem from a mix of fleet growth, retirements, and attrition,” said Boeing.
“Meeting this strong demand will require a collective effort from across the global aviation industry.”
Growing diversity and mobility
“As several hundred thousand pilots and technicians reach retirement age over the next decade, educational outreach and career pathway programs will be essential to inspiring and recruiting the next generation of personnel.
“The aviation industry will need to adopt innovative training solutions to enable optimum learning and knowledge retention.
“Immersive technologies, adaptive learning, schedule flexibility, and new teaching methods will be needed to effectively meet a wide range of learning styles.
“The growing diversity and mobility of aviation personnel will also require instructors to have cross-cultural, cross-generational, and multilingual skills to engage with tomorrow’s workforce.”
Boeing also noted that airlines are recognising the significant cost burden for students. “Bond programmes have gained traction as another avenue for interested candidates,” it said.
