COMPLETIONS T A LENT
“People coming out of the
educational system are not aligned
in the numbers that we need to
support the open positions that
many companies have today”
T here aren’t many people who
have the skills and experience
to create the beautiful
components required for custom
private jet interiors. It is a very
specialist market and requires the
highest quality. For completion centres,
maintaining the talent they need to
fulfil demand can be very challenging,
and the task appears to be getting harder.
Jack DiCello, vice president of human
resources at Constant Aviation, says there is a
shortage of young people coming into the industry,
partly due to an overemphasis on college careers. “That
was happening in the USA to an extreme extent in the
1990s and early 2000s,” he says. “There was definitely a
push in all high schools to get kids college-ready – if you
wanted to do anything you needed a four-year degree.”
TRADE DEFICIT
Ian Ross, human resources director for Flying Colours,
agrees about the generational shortage. “People coming
out of the educational system are not aligned in the
numbers that we need to support the open positions that
many companies have today,” he says. “It’s a real challenge
for employers. It’s not specific to aviation. I’ve sat with
colleagues in the building and construction trades that
are facing exactly the same challenges.”
This also means that individuals with artisan skills are
able to command better salaries and may be less happy
businessjetinteriorsinternational.com
036 JULY 2019
Flying Colours recently
held a recruitment event
in Peterborough where
more than 50 candidates were
interviewed, and a further
110 walk-ins discussed
opportunities
TOP: SUMMER SUN, FLYING
COLOURS’ MANAGER OF INTERIOR
DESIGN, CHATS WITH A POTENTIAL
NEW RECRUIT IN THE COMPANY’S
DESIGN SUITE DURING AN OPEN DAY
LEFT: THE LATEST EXPANSION AT
FLYING COLOURS WILL INVOLVE
FINDING 50 NEW EMPLOYEES
MAIN: AS WELL AS SKILLS,
CONSTANT AVIATION LOOKS FOR
THE RIGHT CULTURAL FIT
/businessjetinteriorsinternational.com