Nigerian Professional Pilots and the Unemployed ab-initio pilots
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Nigerian Professional Pilots and the Unemployed ab-initio pilots
There are currently more than 150 unemployed ab-initio pilots in the Nigerian aviation sector. The papers seem to mislead the public that there's a shortage of pilots but in actual fact, its the jobs that are scarce. For more info check out this site Nigerian Professional Pilots | From Pilots to Pilots, with Pilots for Pilots
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why does aero have expatriate ab initio pilots?..
I am still wondering at the logic of legacy (and low cost airlines like aero contractors ) who hire fresh / low time non - nigerian (as expatriates!) to the detriment of the legion of freshly minted passionate and capable nigerian pilots all over the place. Sadly, many of these folks have self funded their training only to be treated very badly even when they excel at interviews and /or flight tests. Tell me, are the training captains so unsure of their ability to train new nigerian pilots and get them up to speed on turbine aircraft......or are other factors, perhaps corruption & nepotism key here?
Last edited by sattva; 8th May 2013 at 11:30.
or are other factors, perhaps corruption & nepotism key here?
My company employs Nigerians in other parts of the company (non-aviation) and unfortunately many of them are corrupt, can't be trusted with an expense account, "chop" every receipt they present for reimbursement, require constant supervision, and generally have a poor work ethic and short-term commitment to the company. My company management reluctantly accepts that this is part of penalty of doing business in Nigeria for our non-aviation activity in Nigeria, but they won't tolerate this for pilots because we are entrusted with substantial responsibility, often carry large sums of cash, and also receive investment in our type-ratings, sim checks etc.
Now I know that not every Nigerian is the same, and no doubt many pilots will be angered and offended by this observation - but it is the reason why my company won't employ Nigerian pilots. It is simply less risk to employ an ex-pat pilot.
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"and short-term commitment to the company"
What about the expat Pilots who leave Nigeria after they have gotten the required experience to be employed in their home country. Don't they have short term commitment as well?
What about the expat Pilots who leave Nigeria after they have gotten the required experience to be employed in their home country. Don't they have short term commitment as well?
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FLYDHC8, we can't blame Trim Stab
After all, it's Nigerians who can't see that you don't allow foreigners to work in your land where your patriots are qualified, but unemployed. Such nonsense is not accepted anywhere in Europe, EU era and pre- EU era.
If our people knew the first thing about nation building, they wouldn't tag the term "expatriate", to commercial pilots, in 2013. Not after four decades of owning a flying school which in it's first decade, achieved world standards; not after training thousands of professionals in various fields of air transport to global standards, both at home and abroad. Because, like Malaysia did as early as the early eighties, India early seventies, locals only would have been eligible for the right seats of the comm aircraft in the land. And such never has to be a question of legal rules or legislation; it's only common sense to nurture local talent and expect that it would provide society with the long term benefits of contribution of same to your country.
I hope you don't feel I'm being hard on our people. If you think we got it right, just sincerely, dispassionately examine how successful it would be, for the Immigration Service, in concert with the Labour Ministry, to establish a process by which foreigners are denied employment in situations in which our people can do the job. In today's Nigeria of "na where man dey work, na im he dey chop"; this nation of the "drop something" and "settle me" syndrome. Would it work?
In fact it was, I suspect, a foreigner, posting in this forum, who observed that, in order to be taken seriously, any local big wig seeking a contract or their usual rent in Abuja, had to include an Oyibo in the deal. The issue was the tricks private jet owners were getting up to, because of the paucity of official surveillance, oversight, etc. But I think the interesting part of the post was that the guy felt for this country. Yep, the pathos was there. You'd wish the animal civil servants and pols who recruit or lap the **** of those foreigners were the ones who had any sympathy for Nigeria, won't you?
Forgive me, if I hurt your feelings. God knows I'm hurting too. But sometimes we profit if we wash the dirty linen in public, or join in when outsiders do it for us.
(Err, I'm still trying to pretend that this isn't a vain effort to draw the attention of people who can make a difference, to the issues we have raised on this thread)
If our people knew the first thing about nation building, they wouldn't tag the term "expatriate", to commercial pilots, in 2013. Not after four decades of owning a flying school which in it's first decade, achieved world standards; not after training thousands of professionals in various fields of air transport to global standards, both at home and abroad. Because, like Malaysia did as early as the early eighties, India early seventies, locals only would have been eligible for the right seats of the comm aircraft in the land. And such never has to be a question of legal rules or legislation; it's only common sense to nurture local talent and expect that it would provide society with the long term benefits of contribution of same to your country.
I hope you don't feel I'm being hard on our people. If you think we got it right, just sincerely, dispassionately examine how successful it would be, for the Immigration Service, in concert with the Labour Ministry, to establish a process by which foreigners are denied employment in situations in which our people can do the job. In today's Nigeria of "na where man dey work, na im he dey chop"; this nation of the "drop something" and "settle me" syndrome. Would it work?
In fact it was, I suspect, a foreigner, posting in this forum, who observed that, in order to be taken seriously, any local big wig seeking a contract or their usual rent in Abuja, had to include an Oyibo in the deal. The issue was the tricks private jet owners were getting up to, because of the paucity of official surveillance, oversight, etc. But I think the interesting part of the post was that the guy felt for this country. Yep, the pathos was there. You'd wish the animal civil servants and pols who recruit or lap the **** of those foreigners were the ones who had any sympathy for Nigeria, won't you?
Forgive me, if I hurt your feelings. God knows I'm hurting too. But sometimes we profit if we wash the dirty linen in public, or join in when outsiders do it for us.
(Err, I'm still trying to pretend that this isn't a vain effort to draw the attention of people who can make a difference, to the issues we have raised on this thread)
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Wrong
Such nonsense is not accepted anywhere in Europe, EU era and pre- EU era.
Estimating a population of 170 million people in Nigeria the amount of European expats working in this beautiful country makes about 0.6% or around a million residents.
For comparison only, the estimated population of Nigerians living and most possibly working just in the UK gives a figure of 500,000 people.
I guess there are plenty of UK/European citizens who would be qualified to do the job, done by Nigerians…….
Crucial to Nigeria's development will be research investments in understanding internal, regional, and international migration, together with developing policies and institutional capacities to manage not only the current and anticipated flows, but their implications for origin communities and destinations.
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its as simple as ABC, if you want to work in Nigeria, you should get a permanent residency or citizenship as is done the world over. or else you will be working as an illegal immigrant. ofcourse you know what happens to illegals when they are caught in Europe, US or most western nations.
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When I arrived in Lagos for the first time, over 30 years ago, everyone thought that, well, "They just cannot mess this up! Look at the potential, and all this oil money. The good times will be back!"
Zaria was a respected school then, Nigeria Airways was still some sort of airline, Lagos was soon to have a Metro, and they were even building a couple of big garbage incinerators!
Zaria... got any Avgas for those TB-9 Clubs? (That is the model that doesn't even have lights, so they cannot be used for night training. Who chose that model, and how much did they pay for them? Whoever he was, I bet he wasn't an ex-pat.)
Nigeria Airways... which is the national airline now? Virgin Nigeria? No, I meant Arik. Err, no, no idea, really... I haven't been keeping up with the progress of the fast-changing aviation scene. Aero... is it Aero?
The Lagos Metro... has it been finished yet?
Those incinerators... they turned out to have been built for "the wrong kind of garbage," Italian garbage instead of Nigerian garbage. Well, that was the explanation I got.
Delta Steel, Abeokuta, Ikot Abasi, that crazy rolling mill way up by Katsina, the power plant on Lake Kainji, the runway that points in the wrong direction at Abuja, Abuja itself... I watched all those things happen, not really believing what I was seeing.
Local airlines... too many to count! That crazy Chief who used to, literally, throw money around in Benin, while his workers, locals and ex-pats alike, went unpaid working for "the largest airline in Africa." Where were the regulators while that was happening?
Get real, guys! The Nigerian genius for corruption is alive and well, and running your country into the ground. Aviation = big bucks, and there aren't very many Nigerian big shots who can keep their hands off the big bucks. Well, Murtala Muhammed, maybe? But look what happened to him.
You would be amazed, what a small world this is. I recently heard a first-hand account, right from the top, of some of the latest moves on the local aviation scene. I just sat there and listened politely, thinking to myself, "This sounds just like the mistakes I saw made 30 years ago." Well, it might work, this time around. Probably not, but....
Zaria was a respected school then, Nigeria Airways was still some sort of airline, Lagos was soon to have a Metro, and they were even building a couple of big garbage incinerators!
Zaria... got any Avgas for those TB-9 Clubs? (That is the model that doesn't even have lights, so they cannot be used for night training. Who chose that model, and how much did they pay for them? Whoever he was, I bet he wasn't an ex-pat.)
Nigeria Airways... which is the national airline now? Virgin Nigeria? No, I meant Arik. Err, no, no idea, really... I haven't been keeping up with the progress of the fast-changing aviation scene. Aero... is it Aero?
The Lagos Metro... has it been finished yet?
Those incinerators... they turned out to have been built for "the wrong kind of garbage," Italian garbage instead of Nigerian garbage. Well, that was the explanation I got.
Delta Steel, Abeokuta, Ikot Abasi, that crazy rolling mill way up by Katsina, the power plant on Lake Kainji, the runway that points in the wrong direction at Abuja, Abuja itself... I watched all those things happen, not really believing what I was seeing.
Local airlines... too many to count! That crazy Chief who used to, literally, throw money around in Benin, while his workers, locals and ex-pats alike, went unpaid working for "the largest airline in Africa." Where were the regulators while that was happening?
Get real, guys! The Nigerian genius for corruption is alive and well, and running your country into the ground. Aviation = big bucks, and there aren't very many Nigerian big shots who can keep their hands off the big bucks. Well, Murtala Muhammed, maybe? But look what happened to him.
You would be amazed, what a small world this is. I recently heard a first-hand account, right from the top, of some of the latest moves on the local aviation scene. I just sat there and listened politely, thinking to myself, "This sounds just like the mistakes I saw made 30 years ago." Well, it might work, this time around. Probably not, but....
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Trim Stab, you're plagued by stereotypes
Otherwise, you may be racist. And it will reward you best if you drop your misconceptions.
In Kenya, when a BA subsidiary were awarded a contract to overhaul and prepare KQ for privatization, one of the successes of the team leader was to help free staff from a tradition of not taking initiative. LESSON: the gentleman did not see the handicap as an incorrigible trait that deserved only mockery like your company's management have; he only saw an opportunity to contribute to progress. As time went on, any traits also of a need to work under supervision or the baggage of poor work ethic, vanished from amongst the Kenyan staff.
The above was contained in a circa 1998 edition of Regional World magazine; the feature was a celebration of the increasing yearly profits of KQ, and the promise that was evident for the airline.
All this was because, the experts wanted the Kenyan workforce to succeed.
Your company's management should borrow a leaf from that team and see opportunity to create skills and competence, instead of hiding behind sarcasm and despondence to perpetuate what may be racism.
But then, if they did what's right, would you or any so called expatriate have berths to work in Nigerian based companies?
In Kenya, when a BA subsidiary were awarded a contract to overhaul and prepare KQ for privatization, one of the successes of the team leader was to help free staff from a tradition of not taking initiative. LESSON: the gentleman did not see the handicap as an incorrigible trait that deserved only mockery like your company's management have; he only saw an opportunity to contribute to progress. As time went on, any traits also of a need to work under supervision or the baggage of poor work ethic, vanished from amongst the Kenyan staff.
The above was contained in a circa 1998 edition of Regional World magazine; the feature was a celebration of the increasing yearly profits of KQ, and the promise that was evident for the airline.
All this was because, the experts wanted the Kenyan workforce to succeed.
Your company's management should borrow a leaf from that team and see opportunity to create skills and competence, instead of hiding behind sarcasm and despondence to perpetuate what may be racism.
But then, if they did what's right, would you or any so called expatriate have berths to work in Nigerian based companies?
Last edited by dash200; 17th May 2013 at 10:20.
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I think Nigerians are themselves to blame,they are tasting their own medicine.i mean who in this whole world trust Nigerians?? you!,..not me!.be it in anything.i am an African but i believe our fellow Africans dream big too much and always leave whoever around them crying and regreting ever meeting them,i also believe Aviation is an expensive game that needs undivided honesty and less 'get rich overnight' mentality.
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No, it's the right thread
All it takes is that the turnaround experts in Nairobi were human, just like the local staff in the company you fly for, are. I suppose it's clear what the management of your company is, from the foregoing