The Easter & Jubilee holidays of the last couple of months have been dominated by stories about UK airports.
The daily delays & disasters at baggage reclaim have been international news for a while now, with cancellations coming as standard for thousands of would-be holidaymakers.
At the heart of the problem, whether Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, would admit it or not, is the fact that airport staff were let go in huge numbers during the pandemic period & that there simply hasn’t been enough staff to cope with the huge upturn in passenger numbers.
To take one airport in isolation, over 40% of staff at Gatwick airport were made redundant in 2020, as passenger numbers fell by 78%.
Still, as restrictions eased & people were desperate to get back to ‘normal’, you’d have thought that recruitment would’ve been ahead of the curve, rather than a million miles behind it…
You’d have thought wrong.
Security staff are vital to the safe running of our airports, of course they are, but a chronic shortage of trained security personnel isn’t helped by the length of time it can take to security check the security workers!
The Government has now ordered security vetting centres to prioritise checks for airports, so that new recruits can help get things up & running again.
So, that’s the ‘security’ staff that we’re talking about, having to get their ‘security’ checks rushed through, but what about the ‘security’ that Career Garage is most interested in – job ‘security?’
Well, as far as we’re concerned, job security doesn’t just mean how likely you are to keep your job…
…it also means how secure it makes you as a person in the 21st century.
Does it pay you well enough to live a secure life, especially with the ongoing cost of living crisis?
Will it give you security of income should you become ill?
What about maternity & paternity leave?
Well, with 700 Heathrow workers set to go on strike in the middle of the summer holidays, the answer to those questions may just be worth looking at in detail, before pursuing a career in the aviation industry.
The workers are striking over pay, arguing that British Airways still hasn’t restored their salaries to pre pandemic levels.
They were offered a 10% ‘one off’ bonus to help with the cost of living, but union members say this “doesn’t cut the mustard.”
Profits must be up, as let’s face it, passenger numbers are easily where they were before the pandemic. Even before the pandemic though, this was seen to be an underpaid profession.
From our point of view, it looks like this…
The need for security workers is pretty dire…
Rushing security checks for airport workers isn’t necessarily the most sensible idea…
The security of a career in the aviation industry is questionable (at best…)
So, what’s the solution?
If you’re heading away on holiday in August, keep your fingers crossed.
If you’re thinking about a career in the aviation industry, make sure you read between the lines.
If you want to make a plan for the next steps in your career, whichever industry that happens to be in, make sure you book a meeting with Career Garage as a first port of call.
Our security checks are a breeze & whatever baggage you bring to our check in desk, we’ll always try to lighten the load!!