COMPLETIONS T A LENT
“The automotive
industry offers a talent
pool of upholsterers and
painters who, with the
proper training, could
excel and shine in the
aviation industry”
businessjet inter iorsinternat ional . com 039
JULY 2019
to be tied down. “Expectations need to
be managed where we are asking someone,
essentially, to be an artist and to work in a
production environment,” says Ross. “A lot
of these folk go the independent route and
are very successful contractors, with no
intention of being hired by a company.”
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
With intensified competition with other
industries that also need artisan skills,
completion centres may need to be flexible
enough to hire people for their craft rather
than for aviation experience.
“Our approach has been to make use
of transferable skills,” says Ross. “We look
at other industries and trades to find
people who can deploy that skill set in the
aviation industry. For example, we’ve hired
fine instrument makers, who are attuned
to what is aesthetically beautiful. They
have the hand tool skills and the
experience to work with very fine
materials and the quality of their output is
breath-taking. They are able to sustain the
production mentality in an artistic way.”
Constant Aviation engages existing
employees in the recruitment process.
“We have a referral system,” says DiCello.
ABOVE: A MAINTENANCE
TECHNICIAN AT AERIA. THE
COMPANY PAIRS NEW RECRUITS
WITH OLD HANDS TO MAINTAIN
THE QUALITY REQUIRED
BELOW: AERIA’S SHOWROOM.
THE COMPANY SAYS ITS INTERIOR
SERVICES HAVE BENEFITTED FROM
A STRONG TALENT POOL IN THE SAN
ANTONIO AREA OF TEXAS
BOTTOM: A CONCEPT CREATED BY
AERIA’S IN-HOUSE DESIGNERS
“In our interiors business, we are looking for people
who have creative minds and can work with their hands.
We don’t always recruit from the aviation sector. A lot
of the people who work in our cabinet shops, for example,
used to create custom cabinetry for kitchens, were
craftspeople building luxury homes or similar. They were
referred and we trained them on aviation-specific things
like working with honeycomb.”
Aeria Luxury Interiors also recruits candidates with
relevant artisan skills from related industries. “Custom
cabinet and furniture makers take a great deal of pride
in their work and could lend their skills to a business like
ours, while the automotive industry offers a talent pool of
upholsterers and painters who, with the proper training,
could excel and shine in the aviation industry,” says Ron
Soret, vice president and general manager at Aeria.
BACK TO SCHOOL
The company still finds that local trade schools are a
good source of new recruits. “We constantly participate at
job fairs and maintain an ongoing relationship with local
trade schools and universities to ensure we are in touch
with young, ambitious and talented craftspeople,” says
Soret. “We have rigorous on-the-job training, pairing
aviation newcomers with experienced experts, to ensure
the level of quality expected in the completion industry.”
Engaging with government, the community and local
schools is important, not only to fill current openings but
to ensure that the talent pool recovers for the future.
Aeria recently
completed a full BBJ
737 refurbishment
and is now working
on a BBJ 737
completion