Why are airline and aeronautics companies having so much trouble recruiting?

It's a paradox. Since the end of the health crisis, planes have been full to bursting, and aircraft orders continue to increase. The context is therefore very favorable for employment. Yet, airline and aeronautics companies are struggling to recruit in France. Why?

To answer this question, academics and business school professors attached to the Pégase Chair ( the only French chair dedicated to the economics and management of air transport and aerospace) targeted a very specific audience: job seekers and young people under 25. They surveyed 1,600 of them, via questionnaires or face-to-face interviews.

The results show that companies in the airline and aeronautics sectors have cause for concern. First, because apart from major names like Air France, Easyjet, and Ryanair on the airline side, Airbus and Boeing on the manufacturer side, and Aéroports de Paris on the service side, the others are generally flying under the radar. Only a third of those surveyed have heard of the French group Safran, the world leader in aircraft engine manufacturing, and even fewer have heard of Latécoère, the world leader in aircraft doors.

Even more worrying, not many people spontaneously think of looking for work in this sector, and according to the Pégase Chair, this isn't because the industry is singled out for its polluting emissions. Contrary to popular belief, environmental issues are not a fundamental selection criterion for those under 25, according to the study.

76% of young people don't imagine a career in the aviation industry, and 86% in aeronautics, because some of them, in particular, censor themselves, analyzes Paul Chiambaretto, director of the Pégase Chair. They feel they haven't done the right studies, don't have the right skills, and believe that these sectors are open only to scientific profiles.

Finally, half of young people and three-quarters of the unemployed perceive companies in this sector as elitist or inaccessible. Among other obstacles, half of respondents believe the jobs are too demanding, with stress and unstable working hours. These are jobs they may not be very familiar with.

To reverse this trend, the Pégase Chair recommends a major communications effort around careers, opportunities, and career development by reaching out to young people on social media and engaging influencers who have nothing to do with the sector. It also recommends developing rapid retraining programs to meet recruitment needs.

"France is one of the only countries in the world, along with the United States, to have so many global players in the aviation and aeronautics sectors ," emphasizes Paul Chiambaretto. "When companies and their subcontractors encounter difficulties, it slows down activity all over the world."