The sad truth, Schoolboy, is that people have been using instructing (well, GA in general) as a stepping stone since Pontius was a Pilate.
Regardless of whether an individual follows the Instructing or Charter path, the fact of the matter is that the key reason people move on from GA is twofold:
- They have the ultimate goal of working in the airline environment; and/or
- GA, with the exception of very few instances, offers little in the way of career prospects/remuneration.
Speaking from firsthand experience (or that of friends), with the exception (once again) of a handful of operators, the majority of instructors:
- Are employed on casual wages, or worse still on a "contract" basis, with conditions below the GA award, even when they are working on flying school premises fulltime (see below);
- Are required to be on the school premises fulltime (even when they have no flying that day) UNPAID. This precludes a second job which may be necessary;
- Are required to carry out other tasks, such as clerical, reception and others which are unrelated to the duty of actually being a flying instructor UNPAID;
- Do not receive award entitlements, such as superannuation or leave entitlements;
- Required to pay for renewals and upgrades.
I could go on, but I'm sure you get my drift. Most instructors are expected to behave like
fulltime employees, but without any of the benefits or award entitlements.
The Contractor hit the nail on the head.
I was one of the lucky ones who was employed fulltime at a major college, and was treated well by my employer. However, even on the award it would not have paid enough to service a mortgage in SY and feed the family. And that was over 10 years ago! I can't imagine how difficult it would be now
So, Schoolboy, you'll never stop those who
want to move on. For the remainder that see GA as worthwhile, well they'll just move on anyway (often to leave aviation altogether), because it's just not worth it. You can thank
the industry for that. The only way you'll retain the second group is for employers to offer conditions that will make people WANT to stay....
