Recruitment Discrimination
 

Why?

1. Why doesn't any airline hold recruitment days in Africa and when they do why do they limit themselves to South Africa? South Africa is not the only country in africa.....

2. Why do airlines restrict ab-initio candidates to citizens of their own countries?

3.Why are airlines now placing age-limits for candidates who wish to apply? What if you were disadvantaged in your younger age or want to pursue your dream career?

Some airline executives are complaining of a shortage of pilots in the near future but they refuse to face and accept one reality- Africa is the answer to your problems. They're thousands of men and women who want to be pilots but they stand disadvantaged for because:

1. Training costs are too expensive

2. Airlines limit their recruitment drives to their countries and no one is willing to fly their because air tickets in Africa are too expensive and getting visas is a nightmare

3.Airlines will not accept foreign nationals into their training programs and/or limits applicant's age to 28 or below

Why?????

Two major airlines are recruiting and their recruitment requirements already disqualify myself and many of my friends who want to apply (No names mentioned)

Many of the points you raise are actually generic to all jobs, not specific to airlines. It isn't discriminatory for a Western airline to favour hiring from their own country (or in the EU, within the EU). Every country in the world imposes restrictions on foreign nationals working.

So, the airline won't hold recruitment days in Africa if they can find enough high quality candidates closer to home. You wouldn't expect, for example, Goldman Sachs to go hiring in The Gambia when it receives 100+ applicants in the US for every position it advertises.

Countries issue visas, not airlines. If the airline wants to employ a pilot in the United Kingdom it can't just offer that job to anyone - the person must have the right to work in the UK. Unless the job is on the UK Shortage Occupation List - and pilots aren't - you won't get a visa.

Age limits are a matter of practicality and longevity. It is a fact that it is harder and slower to learn new skills as you age. The older you are, the less likely the training is to be successful.

Submarine
 

What hogwash is that about age. There isn't one single study that can demonstrate that an older pilot is anything less able than a younger one. That's a fact.

Older age groups are wiser and have seen life, resulting in better decisions. Learning a new task quickly is not the same as learning it and doing it right.

Younger people are the ones who are dying for no reason (sudden death syndrome) not older ones. Ask anyone whom fears flying, they all like to see a grey haired older person at the controls, than some one young and flashy.

It might be wise for ADS to be looked at more closely and indeed a properly investigated age study to be done. Because nothing is more sure in this world we live in than all retirement ages will be extended in to the 70's - a pure economic fact.

It effects all of eventually so lets work together to save guard our hard earned careers and ambitions eh?

The matter of age in airline recruitment is very simple. Why invest 30k+ in a 40 yo who will give you 20-30 or so years of service when you can spend it on a 20 yo who will give you 50+. Simple economics.

Also to say people feel safer when they see a grey haired pilot up the front over a younger guy is a bit spurious...

It's common sense that an airline will look to recruit close to home first. Why would a national airline or smaller carrier look at the bother of getting a guy/girl a visa to work in the country and then have to worry about them get entry on layovers when they can take on somebody who wont need one?

Well if you are willing to become a pilot then simply pay the money. No disadvantage for you there.

As long as the airline sponsors it, they can take who they want IMO. If they are searching for a smurf with three eyes because they like the idea, then it's the way it is since they are investing their money.

These national restrictions are usually with airlines that have a close connection to government, since obviously the country will first serve it's own citizens before considering others. That aside, it's simply less struggle with bureaucracy.

I did not write that older pilots were less competent than younger pilots. I wrote that it is harder to begin training as a pilot when one is older. There are plenty of scientific studies that support the theory that learning speed, developing new fine motor skills, memory, etc., decline from the early 40s. For example see Aging and Work in the 21st Century, Kenneth Shultz and Gary Adams (eds), page 231 which summarises the research in this area

You know, Proudly Zambian, way back when I had 200 hours I got offered a job in your beautiful country, flying Cessna tourist flights around Victoria Falls.

I really wanted the job, however, I was unable to accept the offer of employment due to the fact that I was not eligible for a work visa.

(It was suggested to me that a "brown envelope" containing $5000 USD would be sufficient to make the work visa problem magically disappear, but that's beside the point).

The point is that all countries, including your own, place barriers on the employment of citizens of other countries, in the form of work visas. And they normally won't issue them unless the employer can prove there is nobody available in their home country that is able to do the job.

There is not, and never will be, a "shortage of pilots" at the 200 hour entry level. In fact every country on earth has many many thousands of people who would like to be pilots but who are "disadvantaged due to training costs" :rolleyes:

Even if they wanted to, a European airline couldn't sponsor a bunch of Zambian cadets for work visas, they'd get laughed out of the employment office.

PeppyJeppy makes a point in their earlier post that why would an airline invest in training an older candidate when a younger person has more working years ahead of them.

While it’s true younger people have more working years ahead of them, an assumption has been made that the candidate will stay with the airline for the remainder of their working life.

This may be true if someone is fortunate enough to join a large flag carrier straight out of training, where they can progress from narrow body short haul work to left hand seat on the latest long haul wide body four engine offering from Boeing or Airbus.

However a candidate in their late teens or early/ mid twenties joining a low cost medium turbo prop or narrow body jet operator is most likely to stay for 5 to 10 years, maybe get their command and some commercial P1 time before looking around for a wide body job.

Indeed most older candidates have reconciled themselves with the fact that they are extremely unlikely to progress onto the latest long haul wide body four engine offering from Boeing or Airbus so they are more likely to remain with the medium turbo prop or narrow body jet operator and build a career there so the time and expense of training the older candidate is more likely to be repaid with interest by the loyalty of the individual.

In a lot of countries you need to undergo strict background screening in order to become an airline pilot. For example, in the U.S. you have to pass a TSA background check. In certain European countries, that check is even more thorough and someone similar to getting a security clearance.

Especially in those cases, it simply saves a lot of administrative overhead (not to mention any visa issues), to hire citizens or legal permanent residents.

I've experienced first class racism. I wouldn't advise any muslim to become a commercial pilot. Too many bigots in this industry.