Hello and welcome to the blog.
I am very excited about this week’s post as it is the
same week as the first-ever private manned spacecraft is expected to be
launched into Earth’s orbit from the US soil since 2011. While it has been
postponed to the 30th of May, I will still like to congratulate the brains
and muscle behind the Space X crew mission. (For more updates about this, I would
be posting on the blog about the event upon eventual launch).
For this week post, I am excited to be posting an article
written by a dear friend of mine and fellow aviation enthusiasts, Ms Gladys Ngbako
who is a graduate of Aviation Management from Coventry
University, UK. The founder of iConnect Aviators Ltd which is focused on promoting Aviation in Africa and supporting the next generation of aspiring aviation professionals.
She recently published an article on the journal of aviation professionals where she shared her thoughts on engaging and retaining the next generation of aviation professionals in the African region, the progress of different initiatives addressing the skill gap, the support provided by States, regional and international organizations and industries.
She recently published an article on the journal of aviation professionals where she shared her thoughts on engaging and retaining the next generation of aviation professionals in the African region, the progress of different initiatives addressing the skill gap, the support provided by States, regional and international organizations and industries.
The complete case study can be purchased via
Routledge and Amazon in the book engaging the Next Generation of Aviation
Professionals. (A link is shared at
the end of the reading).
Here is the summary from the article titled “Nurturing
the future aviation professional in Africa”
THE CHALLENGE:
As the African region continues to navigate
through different approaches to attract highly skilled professionals into
aviation careers, there is no doubt that a large contingent of the current
generation of aviation professionals will retire soon, therefore the need for
new and additional skilled youth is fundamental to the sustainable growth of
the industry.
To engage this demographic, the region is
addressing a few predominant myths, providing access to affordable training,
addressing skills gaps, and by providing support from states, international and
regional organizations, industry and academia.
It is anticipated that the demand for trained
aviation professionals will continue to rise and the emphasis to attract more
youth is critical. This is particularly important for the African continent as
it continues to experience a lack of industry performance and other challenges.
THE SOLUTION:
African young people boast more than 720
million, which gives tremendous potential to unlock the power of this human
potential. The aviation industry forecasts that the demand for skilled talents
within Africa will double over the next 20 years, with the need to source
additional 20,000 pilots, engineers, technical specialists, and other relevant
positions (Airlines.iata.org, 2019).
The African region have proven to struggle
with change and implantation of innovative ideas for a long time and nothing is
simple. Government policies, economic and demographic factors, legacy issues,
and challenges with basic education all have been a massive burden on the
industry and the possibility of impacting the industry’s future.
Some common myths and challenges causing
hindrance to growth are the lack of coherent skills in the aviation disciplines
and lack of awareness within the next generation of the types of aviation jobs
available further compounds the problem.
The lack of female representation in the
industry have proven to have an effect to attract female students to the
industry, as well as the partnership of connecting passionate students into the
industry and all the availability of access to financial aid. However, progress
from initiatives in different parts of Africa are creating roadmaps to attract
the next generation of professionals, although the rate of change has been slow
due to the myths and challenges already mentioned.
Selecting the few aviation initiatives that
are laying out approaches for what is required to turn the status quo around;
by challenging both governments and private sector are Aviators Africa School
Club, AviaGirls Hub, Mamaj in Nigeria; Wonder of Aviation and iFly Academy in
South Africa and Dream Alive Foundation, GFPA in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Other outreach by The International Women in Aviation Organization, which has
chapters in several African States including Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and
Ghana. With efforts of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),
the Next Generation Professionals’ Initiative helps ensure that enough
qualified and competent aviation professionals are available with centers in
Dakar, Nairobi and Cairo.
CALL TO ACTION:
It is critical to recognize that the aviation
industry is growing rapidly and requires action to ensure that there are
qualified and competent aviation professionals in Africa. Therefore, it is
imperative to tackle the exciting challenges of building and developing diverse
human capital structure for aviation in Africa.
Thank you for taking out time to read and
share this post. Should you have any questions, comments or suggestions for Ms.
Shekoyecenu Gladys Ngbako, you can reach or via mail at (gladysngbako@gmail.com) or you can
also use the comment box.
Please follow my discussions on my LinkedIn account at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayomide-a-jide-omole-062633112
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