Manpower gap threatens aviation, say experts

Manpower development in the aviation industry has reached a critical level, with stakeholders calling on the Federal Government to assist the sector get out of the doldrums, particularly with the engagement of Nigerians to man critical sections of the industry.

A former Assistant Secretary General of Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON), Mohammed Tukur, told Woleshadare that many young people had dreamt of becoming pilots in the future, only for their parents to change their minds after being confronted with the cost.

He said because of the dire need of critical manpower, which is lacking in the sector, airlines have resorted to hiring expatriates.

He stated that after the demise of Nigeria Airways, Nigerian airlines, which are known to have very short life span, never lived up to this responsibility of training high number of aviation personnel, but rather resorted to employing expatriate pilots, who have acquired the needed training and certificates to operate their aircraft.

In Nigeria, many trained pilots are unemployed today because they have not type-rated on particular aircraft so they cannot grow to become captains who are sought after all over the world.

The airlines have argued that the times they engaged Nigerians with Commercial Pilot License and type rated them, the beneficiaries left without serving the airlines long enough; rather, they would go to Middle East where they are paid juicy salaries with pampering welfare packages.

This fact was recently accentuated by the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, at a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, where he lamented that ageing workforce and dearth of professionals were some of the headaches the government should address in the sector.

He said government should intervene because the problem was threatening the country’s push to becoming a hub in the West and Central African sub-regions, adding that steps should be taken to close the gap.

Sirika said: “The aviation sector in Nigeria is plagued by dearth of skilled professionals and ageing workforce. Our intervention strategy is to put efforts in place to set up an aerospace university. The university will specifically produce the needed workforce for better efficiency.

Another way to achieve this is with technical and management support of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICASO) and some donor nations. This will help us leverage the capacity of Nigerian College of Aviation Technology as an ICAO regional training centre.”

 A study by one of the major aircraft manufacturers had also raised the alarm over the failure of the country’s regulatory body to design a programme to address the ageing professional workforce.

According to the study, most of those trained by the defunct national carrier, who worked in many rested domestic carriers, have either retired or resigned.

The study noted that the last batch of such professionals, who were attached to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) are due for retirement.

Sirika said since the liquidation of Nigeria Airways Limited in 2003, the training of technical professionals, including pilots, aircraft engineers and others, had taken the back seat. Experts said the absence of a replacement programme by the NCAA for ageing workforce was not good for the sector.