Aerospace industry tackles 10,000 annual technical vacancies
Major aerospace employers have launched a national recruitment campaign as the sector continues to face around 10,000 unfilled technical vacancies each year.
UK aerospace employers have launched a joint national recruitment campaign as the industry seeks to fill around 10,000 technical vacancies each year across the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors.
The campaign, 'There's Aerospace For You', has been launched by trade body ADS with support from Airbus, GKN Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Rolls-Royce and Safran. It promotes careers in engineering, manufacturing, digital technology, sustainability and apprenticeships.
ADS said 66% of aerospace employers report workforce shortages that are constraining growth. The trade body said the campaign is intended to raise awareness of careers in the sector and encourage more people to consider aerospace roles.
The initiative includes a careers website featuring vacancies, training opportunities and employee case studies. It is supported by a nationwide tour of a recruitment pod built from an upcycled Airbus A318 fuselage, which has appeared in Bristol, Belfast and at the Farnborough International Airshow before travelling to Manchester and Glasgow.
Polling commissioned by ADS found that 59% of respondents had not previously received information about careers in aerospace, while half said they were unfamiliar with the sector as a career option. Separate polling found that 60% of young people would not consider a career in manufacturing because of perceptions about factory environments and pay.
ADS said the UK aerospace industry employs 113,000 people directly, with average salaries of £52,600, around a third higher than the UK average. The organisation represents more than 2,000 companies across the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors.
Industry Minister Chris McDonald said the sector would require a new generation of skilled workers to maintain the UK's position in aerospace and highlighted opportunities across manufacturing, sustainability and digital technologies.
Kevin Craven, chief executive of ADS, said employers needed a collective approach to address workforce shortages and warned that persistent vacancies were limiting the sector's growth.