Introduction
The aviation industry is entering a period of colossal change. Airlines, maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) providers, and operators across the value chain are responding to a complex mix of recovery trends, workforce pressures, regulatory shifts, and evolving technologies.
While the industry is regaining momentum after the disruption of COVID-19, the way aviation jobs are created, filled, and defined is undergoing a significant transformation. Hiring patterns, labour expectations, and role requirements are all evolving in response to both immediate challenges and long-term structural shifts.
In this article, we explore the wide range of factors currently shaping the global aviation employment landscape. From the operational realities of increased fleet activity to the demographic challenges affecting the technical workforce, and from the growing influence of technology to the complexity of compliance-led recruitment strategies; each force has a measurable impact.
For employers, particularly those operating in safety-critical environments like MRO, workforce planning is no longer a support function. It’s a central business imperative that can influence performance, compliance, and competitiveness.
Post-Pandemic Recovery of The Aerospace Industry
Surging Operational Demand
After historic lows in passenger volumes during the pandemic, global aviation demand has rebounded at pace. Forecasts now project over 10 billion passengers by 2025, marking a decisive return to and beyond pre-COVID levels. This sharp recovery is triggering renewed investment across route networks, aircraft capacity, base maintenance, and passenger service infrastructure.
Airlines are reinstating grounded fleets, launching new routes, and increasing the frequency of key services. This resurgence isn't limited to passenger travel; cargo and charter operations are also scaling in response to supply chain pressures and new logistical patterns. These developments are placing considerable pressure on staffing models, facility utilisation, and contractor availability across the aviation ecosystem.
Labour Shortages Across Operational Divisions
As operators restore capacity and expand service levels, hiring requirements have surged across multiple operational domains. Frontline roles in safety teams, customer service, logistics, ground operations, and maintenance are all facing significant recruitment strain.
Many aviation companies are competing for limited pools of qualified professionals at the same time, which is exacerbating talent shortages- particularly in areas where furloughs, early retirements, or career changes created structural gaps. For critical operational teams, this is creating friction in resourcing and driving up recruitment costs. The shortfall is especially pronounced in licensed technical roles, where onboarding timelines are longer and the candidate base is smaller.
Recruitment Backlogs and Pressure on In-House Teams
This rapid return to market activity is also putting pressure on internal recruitment teams. Hiring timelines are tight, demand is high, and sourcing pipelines are often too narrow to support sustained growth. As a result, many in-house functions are experiencing backlogs in candidate screening, qualification checks, and onboarding delivery.
To manage this growing workload, employers are increasingly leaning on specialist aviation recruitment partners who can offer access to pre-qualified professionals, fast-track hiring processes, and compliance-ready contractor pools. This external support is helping to keep operations moving while internal teams regroup and recalibrate.
Labour Market Constraints and Demographic Pressures
Global Workforce Requirements
Despite the uptick in hiring activity, the aviation labour market remains structurally constrained. The industry is projected to require 1.5 million new professionals globally over the next decade, reflecting both growth in aircraft operations and the replacement of an ageing workforce.
However, this rising demand is clashing with a limited supply of qualified candidates; particularly in technical, engineering, and licensed functions. The result is a global imbalance between job creation and job readiness. In many regions, aviation employers are facing long lead times for sourcing talent, even for mid-level operational roles. The challenge is not simply one of volume; it’s about skills, certification, and compliance-readiness.
Ageing Technical Workforce
One of the most critical labour pressures in aviation today is demographic. The average age of licensed engineers now exceeds 50 in many parts of Europe and North America, with a large proportion of the workforce expected to retire over the next five to ten years. These departures are creating immediate and long-term capacity risks across MRO operations; particularly in base maintenance, heavy checks, and airworthiness oversight.
At the same time, the pipeline of new entrants into the sector is not keeping pace. Training programmes for B1 and B2 engineers, aircraft technicians, and certifying staff are often underfunded, oversubscribed, or misaligned with emerging skills needs. This is leaving operators with widening capability gaps and longer onboarding cycles, especially for roles tied to safety and compliance.
Increased Time-to-Fill and Cost of Hiring
These pressures are driving sharp increases in both the time and cost of hiring. Roles that might once have taken three to four weeks to fill now regularly exceed two months, especially in regulated functions. Employers are also facing greater wage pressure, as experienced candidates command higher premiums and more favourable terms.
At an organisational level, the impact is significant: delayed hiring slows fleet readiness, increases training costs, and raises the risk of operational disruption. This is particularly true in environments where vacancies affect certifying engineers, maintenance schedulers, or airworthiness personnel. Unfilled roles in these areas create real delivery challenges, affecting schedules, compliance, and workforce stability.
A Growing Aviation MRO Market and the Rise of Specialist Hiring
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) continues to drive significant demand across the aviation workforce. As global fleet utilisation increases, and older aircraft remain active well beyond their original service lifespans, the pressure on maintenance capacity is intensifying. Industry forecasts place the MRO market at $282 billion by 2025; growth fuelled by fleet expansion, lifecycle extension, and evolving regulatory requirements.
This momentum is welcome, but it comes with clear resourcing implications. Many MRO providers, particularly in Europe, are facing sustained challenges in sourcing and retaining licensed professionals, engineers, and planning teams. With capacity stretched and timelines tightening, recruitment strategies are now integral to service delivery.
Base Maintenance: Technical Workload and Workforce Implications
Base maintenance remains a key focus as operators manage ageing fleets, deferred checks, and evolving compliance requirements. While the work is routine in scheduling, its execution depends on access to experienced, certified personnel across engineering, planning, and quality assurance. For many providers, the challenge isn’t the work itself, but maintaining throughput without compromising standards, particularly during periods of increased hangar demand or workforce shortages.
As operators increase throughput, staffing becomes more complex. Experienced personnel are needed to maintain efficiency and uphold compliance standards across multiple aircraft types and operator models. Many organisations now rely on a flexible blend of in-house teams and contract professionals to keep pace with maintenance cycles.
Heavy Maintenance: Pressure Points in Delivery and Resourcing
Large-scale inspections such as C-checks and D-checks are creating bottlenecks across MRO workflows. These checks are labour- and time-intensive, requiring extended downtime and well-coordinated teams of licensed engineers and support specialists.
In the current market, delays are common. Backlogs in heavy maintenance programmes are forcing some operators to reschedule availability or outsource work where internal resource is insufficient. For employers, the challenge is less about identifying gaps and more about having a resourcing strategy capable of responding; whether through contract labour, cross-border placements, or redeploying trusted personnel at short notice.
For candidates, the picture is more positive. Demand remains high for experienced engineers, structural mechanics, and planners with recent heavy maintenance experience, offering a range of opportunities from short-term contracts to ongoing project roles.
Specialist Hiring in MRO
Hiring into MRO environments is now a strategic priority. Certified engineers (B1/B2), planners, airframe specialists, and quality inspectors are among the most in-demand roles across the aviation workforce. Yet these are also the roles facing the longest time-to-fill and the greatest compliance overhead.
To meet demand and stay competitive, MROs are increasingly partnering with aviation-specialist recruiters; those who understand licensing requirements, onboarding constraints, and the operational realities of technical hiring. Employers with forward-looking workforce strategies are better positioned to meet performance targets, maintain continuity, and respond to fluctuations in demand without disruption.
The Changing Role of Technology in the Aviation Industry
Evolution of Skillsets
Technology is not only shaping how aircraft operate- it’s reshaping the roles required to maintain and support them. Newer-generation aircraft systems demand broader technical fluency, especially as digital diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and electric propulsion become more mainstream.
Rise of Hybrid Technical Roles
Avionics technicians, systems engineers, and data analysts are now playing increasingly central roles in fleet readiness. Hybrid skillsets; those combining hardware, software, and systems integration are in high demand. This is forcing employers to revise job descriptions, offer upskilling routes, and adjust expectations when hiring into technical teams.
Oversight Roles in a Digitised Environment
In some areas, AI and automation are reducing the volume of manual inspection work, but creating new needs around oversight, compliance, and system verification. The skill profile of the aviation technician is evolving rapidly, and employers must evolve with it.
Regulatory Complexity and Social Accountability
Cross-Border Hiring Challenges
Hiring in aviation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Increasingly, it is shaped by the interaction of local and international regulation. For employers operating across borders, licensing bodies such as EASA and UKCAA impose strict certification and training requirements, adding time and friction to recruitment.
Brexit and Recognition of Licences
In the post-Brexit environment, mutual recognition of qualifications remains fragmented, slowing the mobility of certified professionals between the UK and EU. Visa requirements, language testing, and onboarding procedures can extend the hiring timeline significantly.
ESG Expectations in Workforce Planning
Alongside this, sustainability has entered the hiring equation. Roles in emissions tracking, route optimisation, fuel efficiency, and environmental compliance are gaining traction. Candidates; particularly younger cohorts, are also prioritising employers with clear ESG commitments. This convergence of regulatory and social expectations is altering the way employers position and staff their organisations.
Strategic Hiring in a Competitive Landscape
Why Reactive Hiring Isn’t Enough
In this context, reactive hiring no longer works. Employers that succeed in this environment are those that think strategically- building workforce plans aligned to fleet cycles, regulatory requirements, and retention risk.
Workforce Models: Perm vs Contract
Strategic hiring means having clarity on when to engage permanent staff and when to supplement with contract labour. It means working with recruiters who understand the licensing and onboarding timelines for aviation-specific roles. And it means anticipating shortages before they disrupt delivery.
Chevron’s Approach to Aviation Hiring
At Chevron Recruitment, we bring over 20 years of aviation and technical hiring expertise to the table. Our consultants understand the complexities of workforce planning across MRO, line operations, and specialist aviation engineering teams. We support our clients by delivering aviation-specific workforce solutions that are both strategic and responsive, matching certified, compliant professionals to the roles that keep operations moving.
From long-term workforce planning to urgent contract fulfilment, we provide tailored support for permanent, interim, and project-based needs. With an in-depth knowledge of certification pathways, role compliance, and candidate expectations, our team ensures the right fit every time- for employers and candidates alike.
Conclusion
The aviation sector is evolving rapidly, shaped by global recovery trends, technological innovation, and demographic pressures. For employers, this presents both challenge and opportunity: hiring today requires more than filling a vacancy—it’s about securing the capability to compete, grow, and deliver under pressure.
Chevron Recruitment operates at the heart of this shift. We help aviation organisations across the UK and Europe build the teams they need to meet regulatory demands, operational goals, and workforce sustainability. Whether you’re expanding your base maintenance programme, navigating skills shortages, or simply future-proofing your team; we’re here to help you do it right.
If you're hiring
Chevron Recruitment supports employers at every stage of the hiring process. We combine deep sector knowledge with a personal, solutions-focused approach, helping you find the right people for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s growth.
From permanent placements to flexible contractor deployments, our team delivers reliable, efficient recruitment support with minimal disruption to your internal team.
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If you're a candidate
Looking for your next role in aviation? Whether you’re a B1/B2 engineer, planner, technician, or specialist; we work with leading MROs and operators across Europe who are actively hiring.
We take the time to understand your skills, goals, and preferred working environment, connecting you to opportunities that match your experience and ambition.
Explore open roles or register your interest via Chevron’s career hub.