Looming pilot shortage prompts training upgrade
Sheridan College and the Brampton Flying Club announced a new partnership on Wednesday that will allow students to earn a business degree and their commercial pilot’s licence in the same four years.
“More and more airlines are looking to go beyond just flying experience when it comes to hiring. A solid post-secondary education will give young pilots an edge when they walk in the door for that first flying job interview,†said Allan Paige, president of the Brampton Flying Club, which operates out of the Brampton Flight Centre.
The partnership is in response to anticipated demand for new pilots in coming years.
Airplane manufacturer Boeing estimates as many as 460,000 new pilots will be needed worldwide within the next 20 years as existing pilots retire and as demand for air travel increases in countries like India and China.
North America alone will need another 82,800 pilots, according to Boeing.
The statistics are in line with figures from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) released in March, which predict that the number of commercial aircraft will increase from 61,833 to 151,565 in the next 20 years.
Departures are expected to double in the same period to almost 52 million.
The ICAO projected an increase of more than two million jobs for pilots, maintenance personnel and air traffic controllers by 2030.
“Aviation in India and China is booming,†said Sheridan College president Jeff Zabudsky. “There will be this voracious appetite for pilots.â€
Students in the new program will take accounting and finance courses and learn to fly. They will graduate with a bachelor of applied business (Global Business Management) and a pilot’s licence.
The program will cost about $18,000 a year for a total cost of $75,000 over four years.
Pilots in their first year on the job earn as little as $20,000. Experienced pilots flying large commercial passenger jets earn about $250,000 a year.
Large carriers, like Air Canada, require about 10 years of experience in the pilots it hires, says Paul Howard, communications officer for the union representing Air Canada pilots.
27/01/12 Francine Kopun/The Star.com
Oh shut up! people have been talking about an ‘impending’ pilot shortage since 1980’s. Forget the shortage, there is a massive over-supply of pilots. Go to any pilots’ forum and you will hear stories of pilots sitting at home without a job for years. More than half the pilots in India are unemployed.
im unable to cry as the pain becomes too intense when i come across this word “pilot shortage”…
Absolutley….the word “Pilot Shortage” makes thousands of unemployed pilots worldwide (4000+ in India alone) to go crazy with these news…..All of them are CPL+ME+IR rated, some have even a type rating, however there are no openings at all & an over supply of pilots….All an aviation Industry wants is CAPTAINS with 5000+ hrs, noone requires first officers with CPL or atleast frozen ATP….so how will one become a capt. untill he is given opportunity to fly….so when they say its “Shortage” of pilots, it means experienced captains not first officers 🙁 …which am sure will shortage forever….since we have no oppportunity to fly to logg hours to be a captain.
Generally it is either Embry-Riddle or Univ. of North Dakota. Quite ankrfly, college is what you make it and while is very true that Embry-Riddle has a high percentage of guys, the fact that the entire school is focused in aviation is a plus and you will be far better prepared, including having a knowledge of how aviation companies which I don’t recall a state school covering much about. Also, Embry-Riddle alumni can be found all throughout the hierarchy of avation companies which is a clear cut advantage. I would only recommend that the state school route if you are able to find a school whose degree is highly sought after by employers.