Think all recruitments have ceased for the foreseeable...a message from Balpa
Dear members,
With all that is going on in the world at the moment and all the uncertainty within the aviation industry, we appreciate that this is a very worrying time for those of you currently in training or who have recently finished your training. As I’m sure you can all appreciate, the main focus for BALPA is in dealing with the individual airlines and their pilot workforce, to secure the future of the profession. Although it may feel like you, our nextGen members are alone right now we can assure you that by undertaking this vital work, BALPA are also ensuring the brightest possible future for you after the current situation has passed.
We appreciate that you will all have many questions about the future of the airline industry and whilst we don’t have a crystal ball this communication is intended to answer some of those questions.
Below we have aimed to cover the primary concerns of job prospects and protecting yourself financially, however if any of you have any other issues you wish us to cover then please get in touch.
In response to the Covid-19 outbreak, most airlines worldwide and all European airlines have ceased recruitment for the foreseeable future. This compounded with the recent collapse of airlines such as BMI Regional, Thomas Cook and now Flybe, means that the U.K and Europe currently has an excess of qualified pilots. At this moment in time, it is unclear when recruitment will begin again, however what is known is that it will be on a much smaller scale than was previously being experienced.
What this means for you is that when recruitment does starts again, you should expect to be competing for fewer positions against a lot more candidates, many of whom will already have years of flying experience in the airline industry.
To mitigate against this there are a number of steps that you can take now. For those of you about to start training, it is worth considering postponing your start date and/or looking at options of spreading your training over a longer period than originally planned.
If you are currently in training, we are pleased to see that some schools have already begun offering their students the options of slowing down their training and/or temporarily withdrawing from training courses, with the purpose of pushing graduation dates into the future.
With all of this in mind it is also vitally important to protect yourself financially. BALPA always discourages students from paying for their training up front or in unjustified large payment chunks and we’d like to reiterate that again.
For schools that require large payments it is worth asking to break those payments down into smaller more regular payments, in order to retain the money in your own account for as long as possible. Whilst we are not expecting to see any flight schools going bust as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, it cannot be guaranteed.
For those of you considering leaving paid employment to complete your training, it would be very prudent to reconsider such action at this time. We could strongly suggest remaining in your current employment and developing a plan to train around your current job, certainly until such time as airlines’ future recruitment plans become much clearer.
For those of you just leaving High School and considering embarking upon a career as a professional pilot we would advise in this current climate to gain experience in another professional prior to undertaking any training. This will serve two purposes; firstly, it will postpone your training start date until there is a much clearer picture on future pilot recruitment plans and allow the current excess of pilots to dry up. Secondly, it will give you a fall-back plan should you fail to gain employment as a professional pilot.
What the world is facing now is unprecedented and nobody has all of the answers. We understand that many of you may feel alone right now however rest assured you are not. Being part of a union means that we are all in this together and we at BALPA are always here to assist and support you in any way we can.
Kind Regards,
Your BALPA nextGen committee