Interesting, I didn't know there was a Future Pilot Task Force. Anyone has any details on them, website, mission, etc.?
Not surprised the airlines have suddenly established a liking for instructors -- as there are less experienced guys to recruit from the GA field, they're looking for alternative sources for future employees.. or am I being cynical here?
From The Australian, today:
AUSTRALIA needs to boost flying instructor numbers by at least 15 per cent over the next five years to avoid a serious pilot shortage, a new industry task force has warned.
Qualified flying instructors are being recruited by airlines, and aviation educators are being urged to look at better ways of attracting replacements.
Instructors are attractive to the carriers because they see them as pilots who can adapt easily and quickly to the airline environment.
But the worry is that there may be too few flying instructors to train enough pilots to meet growing industry demand.
The tight pilot job market is already starting to bite in Australia with regional airlines complaining they are having trouble retaining their workers.
Regional Express last week revealed it was experiencing an annual attrition rate of 60 per cent and warned of a bloodbath this year among smaller airlines because of the shortage.
The Future Pilot Task Force met for the first time in Sydney on Monday and put pilot shortages at the top of a list of key industry risk factors.
The task force - made up of representatives from major airlines, flying training organisations, higher education institutions, industry organisations and federal government departments - is particularly concerned about about the fall in flying instructor numbers.
"What we have identified is that it is difficult to retain pilot instructors for a range of reasons including the high demand in the job market for working pilots," taskforce convenor and University of South Australia head of aviation Steven Phillips said.
"But that points to a need for greater career path planning for qualified pilots and more promotion of the flight instructor role as a legitimate and rewarding occupation."
Task force members agreed to work together to promote the role of the flight instructor and to improve how an instructor rating was perceived as part of a career path to an airline job.
Airlines agreed that flight instruction should be recognised as a profession by the industry and that an instructor rating should be recognised as one of the best things for aspiring airline pilots to have on their CVs.
The task force will establish a working group to develop "pre-selection" testing that would identify people with the potential to be both instructors and airline pilots.
This is likely to consist of psychometric, numeracy, literacy, decision making and motor skills tests similar to those already used by the airlines.
Mr Phillips said the task force believed this would give potential candidates the confidence to choose flight instruction as a suitable career path into airlines.
"There are still a reasonable number of people coming through the training program who see working charter or for a small company in Northern Australia and building up your hours as a better pathway to the airlines than going into flying instruction," he said.
"One of the pushes out of Monday was to start working on changing that perception. And certainly the idea of preselection in itself would change that perception dramatically. If the only way you can get preselection is by being a flying instructor, we would see a turnaround there."
The task force also wants to promote piloting as a worthwhile and rewarding career and hopes to entice back qualified instructors who have left the industry.
"If we can convince even 5 per cent to return that would have a very positive impact on the industry both in having their expertise and in relieving immediate stress in the education area," Mr Phillips said.
"We hope to develop a bit of a city-to-city roadshow, using the recent Qantas pilot recruitment roadshow as a model, to promote piloting as a career and we will be working closely across the industry with airlines and training organisations to present the diverse career options for pilots."