Our Human Resources Crisis
HAC and other associations are working cooperatively to make their views known on our Human Resources crisis. In a variety of ways, the helicopter industry has fundamentally different problems – and solutions to advance. Unlike fixed-wing operators, in our industry, the problem is not a shortage of pilots, but a shortage of experienced pilots. Set out below is an excerpt from a submission made to Judy Sgro, the Chair of the Transportation Committee (TRAN). The TRAN recently conducted an enquiry into the flight crew shortage in the commercial aviation community, and the interests of the commercial helicopter community were inadequately addressed:
“In some ways, the helicopter industry is very different from aeroplane commercial operations. For example, helicopter flight training is roughly three or four times as costly on an hourly basis as aeroplane training, owing to the capital and maintenance costs of the aircraft. For many young commercial aeroplane pilots, an instructors licence is an early step-along-the-way to an airline job. Young aeroplane pilots build time as an instructor. For helicopter pilots, they require significantly more hours to begin an Instructors license, so only those who choose to come BACK to instructing from flying more lucrative jobs in the field as an experienced pilot, even meet the minimum requirements to become instructors. What’s more, they are generally motivated by a desire to give back to the aviation community or to be home every night, rather than motivated by a need to pay the rent or build time. For those helicopter pilots that want to become instructors, they may be intimidated by the prospect of spending thousands of dollars at the peak of their careers to earn a small percentage of the salary they could earn as an experienced line-pilot.
What’s more, while relatively low-time aeroplane instructors are now being snapped up by the airlines, and dropped into the right seat of a two-crew aircraft, virtually all helicopter pilots start their careers by operating in a single-pilot environment, without anyone to mentor them. Operators are naturally loath to send them out into the field without the advanced skills that they require – under circumstances where they may be hundreds of miles from someone that can answer their questions or provide them with the required in-flight training. In addition, these young pilots have a bare commercial helicopter license, which does not include add-ons that would make them considerably more marketable in the commercial aviation community – like a mountain flying course, or advanced precision long-line skills, or even a Float Rating, an IFR rating, or a new aircraft type endorsement, to name only a few. Our industry could benefit from access to some other up-skill funding for these people. These young pilots are fundamentally different from low-time aeroplane instructors who often have a Multi-IFR rating, and who are technically licensed and qualified to fly for an airline. They are simply in need of more hours and some mentored grooming to become employable by a regional carrier, where they can then quickly build time towards their Airline Transport License – Aeroplane while gaining experience in a paid job. Young helicopter pilots face a no-man’s land, where they generally cannot afford the necessary and expensive training to make themselves more employable, and employers are faced with considerable expense to get a low-timer up to speed, who may not even meet the minimum hour requirements imposed by their customers. There is an up-skill gap, as well as an hours and experience gap. I offer these scenarios as examples of just how different the helicopter industry’s problems – and solutions are, from our aeroplane cousins. It’s complicated.
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HAC would be pleased to reach out to help you and the TRAN Committee to help the committee understand the subtle, and not-so-subtle differences between the needs of the aeroplane flight training community and the helicopter flight training community.”
While the focus of the Minister on Women and Indigenous people who are under-represented in our industry is to be applauded, the barriers to entry are complicated, and will take time to resolve. We need assistance from the Federal Government that will also help us resolve the shortage of flight crews in the very short term – including a strategy that will help us provide more experienced flight crew members – male and female – Indigenous and otherwise, to our industry.